Return to main storyline: [17. Family]
20a. Decision
Monday, 16 March 2572
Shannon had sent Blackfeather home to get ready for her trip, and was distracting himself from her loss by studying. He hadn't wasted his time in Odeon's mind; besides teaching the priest how to remove the compulsions he'd put Sara under—and, more pleasantly, just how much agony a human could be subjected to with the proper support—he had extracted considerable information.
Most of it was useless, though some was mildly interesting; it was Cortin's fears that intrigued him. She was primarily afraid of the confrontation—decision point, actually, which concerned him as well, though for different reasons—but there was fear for her people, for the Church, and of what he would do about the Families.
Shayan sighed, feeling all too human in his frustration. He had enjoyed Odeon's pain, no question about that, but the tempering did mean the confrontation both he and Cortin dreaded was less than half a year away.
Which meant he had his own choice to make, right now. Just how badly did he want to live?
There was no guarantee he would, of course, even if Odeon made the correct choice; there was no guarantee any life at all in this universe would survive the invasion that was to come. It had been easy enough, four centuries ago, to promise cooperation—but he'd had private reservations, cooperating on the surface while continuing to pursue his own goals and pleasures.