Summer had arrived and with it, sunshine and heat.

  Socia wandered the streets of Harmony by herself, with shades and scarf, so much like her Lady, in dress and demeanor.

  Her attempts to hide who she was mostly failed, but it didn’t matter, since it signaled to all who wished to disturb her: don’t.

  Still at times she allowed the occasional bow and affections of devotion, even returned a smile, a nod or even a touch in the case of devoted old ladies.

  The noise of the city, the hustle and bustle around her; it blanketed out the sensations within her, let her relax.

  To simply be.

  BELOVED SOCIA SAVES VICTIMS

  Arson String Ends, Victims Sheltered

  She set the newspaper aside and enjoyed her coffee.

  No more fires, the gangs had kept their word. All of them. Since rumors spread fast.

  Mr. Stone was right, the insurance paid off, the excess used to help those made homeless from the string of arsons. Donations from those who wished to be in her good graces and the fact that she had a wage, also added to the cause.

  How long had it been since she actually paid for something?

  She mostly just left money on the table nowadays.

  Wrote something nice on a note.

  She finished her coffee.

  Left some coins.

  And a note.

  And then set off into the streets once again.

  The sun had finally emerged from behind the horizon, showering the world with its glory.

  We were all beneath him.

  But he doesn’t care.

  She tightened her scarf and moved on, leaving the café and her thoughts behind.

  At the park, she sat down on a bench; a lake in front of her, grass and a hedge labyrinth behind her.

  Ducks on the lake. People on the lawn. Socia on a bench.

  A day off. It was what she needed.

  She leaned back, took a breath.

  The humming never left her, but she could handle it now.

  Parsed the sensations, sorted the impressions.

  The sun rose some more.

  Socia felt at ease.

  Until she felt It. In the stone below, footsteps making It obey. In the tide within her own veins, a heart made It yield. In the wind around her, a breath that made It still.

  There was no sound. It felt like time had stopped.

  A presence so familiar approached.

  “Turn around,” a voice said.

  It was like wine and honey.

  She pushed herself up, turned around, eager to see the source of the voice.

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  A creature of grace and beauty was before her.

  A presence she was quite accustomed to.

  A Daughter of the Ambition.

  But it wasn’t her Lady.

  It was another.

  A head taller than her own Lady and with amber eyes, duplicates of the sun in the sky. Considering who her father was, maybe it wasn’t surprising.

  No shades, no scarf, she wished to be seen.

  Socia thought and began to bow.

  A hand stopped her. A voice addressed her.

  “No need for that… though it is good to see that you know to bow to your betters,” the Amber Lady said.

  “You may speak.”

  Her style was like that of the Lady: timeless. Amber dress and long black gloves, but Socia didn’t pay them mind.

  An amber star was her heart, and the cosmos yielded to it.

  And Socia too.

  “It’s an honor to meet one of my Lady’s honored sisters,” Socia said.

  “It truly is,” the Amber Lady said.

  “Since you belong to my father’s household now, you may address me as elder sister.”

  Fingers guided Socia’s face, turned her face sideways, while the Amber Lady studied her face, and Socia hers.

  With every tilt, raise and turn of Socia’s face the Amber Lady’s lips struggled between a smile and a smirk, until the former won out.

  “I see why she chose you,” the Amber Lady said.

  “You must have been pretty… but also plain.”

  Her fingers left Socia’s face, her smile left her own face.

  “A little star she made of you.”

  “One that will not outshine.”

  Warmth flooded from her, her words — intoxicating.

  Socia let the tide wash over her, her presence a wave that one couldn’t help but welcome.

  “Her own,” the Amber Lady said.

  Lies.

  Surely, she lied.

  All the prayers, the hum of the masses, were gone.

  There were only them.

  Socia steadied herself, remembered who she was, what she was.

  And then she put her mask on.

  “My Lady is wise as are her choices,” Socia said.

  “How could it be any other way?”

  “She is a Daughter of the Ambition.”

  A chuckle escaped the star before her.

  “Yes. Truly, we cannot fail,” the Amber Lady said.

  “To suggest that would be…”

  Heresy.

  “Improper and above all foolish.”

  A hug descended on Socia. Arms wrapped around her.

  “And you are no fool, my sister’s Socia,” the Amber Lady said.

  The hug ended, but hands remained on her shoulders.

  “But you are her tool and today you will be…” the Amber Lady said.

  “My tool.”

  “I’ll give you back once I’m done,” the Amber Lady had said.

  “Whole.”

  And then she chuckled and pulled Socia into her world.

  They walked the streets and people bowed; some even kneeled.

  But none dared approach, only adore.

  Like a sun unto herself she was, and Socia was but a star.

  She took Socia to a very nice restaurant, on the outskirts of Harmony, where they could see more clearly the majesty of the world tree. There they ate seven different dishes each paired with a suitable beverage to enhance the experience.

  Socia wondered what her game was, what intentions she hid. Her taste in restaurants at least — Socia couldn’t find fault.

  And the silence — she relished.

  Untold voices had been replaced by hers, honey that dripped into Socia’s ears.

  It was difficult to tear her eyes away from the Lady’s elder sister. She was a sun you had to look at — to avert your gaze would hurt.

  What does she want?

  Why do I like her?

  Perhaps it was because their talk stayed professional, focused on her work at Rose Corporation — and her Amber Lady’s advice was good. She listened to Socia, she advised, offered perspective.

  Her Amber Lady?

  The food was good, the orange wine suitable and her eyes were so golden.

  They cannot help but love us.

  Her Lady had said to her once a long time ago when she had dragged her from the depths.

  The Amber Lady finished her drink. It disappeared from her hand. Taken by the man who would not leave her side.

  Not a man. A god.

  He was attuned to It, but not like Socia — not elemental, something different. He moved with grace and intensity, dressed in a suit, with his owner’s mark clearly visible in the middle of his brow.

  A circle with three circles within.

  The Fourth Daughter of the Ambition.

  “He’s such a treasure,” her Amber Lady said.

  A new bottle popped, a drink poured, and in her hand, wine.

  “Unlike you, he was old when I chose him,” her Amber Lady said.

  “I like them experienced.”

  And my Lady doesn’t?

  Socia took a sip. Taste and alcohol — a diversion.

  “Old,” her Amber Lady said.

  Her Amber Lady licked her lips and spoke.

  “The old ones remember that they are mortal.”

  Her eyes, so golden.

  “That they will die. Be judged. Reborn.”

  Erased.

  Socia’s eyes widened. One of her fingers tapped the table, her mask cracked.

  Her Amber Lady tilted her head, her lips trembled, and then she laughed.

  “Did my sister’s threat affect you so much, my dear Socia,” her Amber Lady said.

  Her palms landed on the table, and she leaned forward.

  “Most people just get another go at the merry go round.”

  “Such is the mercy of my father.”

  “Their tools. Like you.”

  “What would an artist do without his tools?”

  His toys.

  We are toys to him. To do as he likes.

  Her Amber Lady took her hand into hers and kissed it, her lips so warm.

  Outside the window the sun was setting; it bathed the world red.

  “Tools. That’s all we are,” her Amber Lady said.

  She kissed her other hand.

  “Even me.”

  Her golden eyes fell on Socia; their rays stroked her, invited her.

  “A tool.”

  Toys.