Undone

“It’s obvious.” I felt my lips curl into a smile. “You strike out at me, but it’s not me you fear.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not a bitch, Cassie.”

Cassie? “My name is Cassiel.” I glowered at him. That made him smile, and the longer I glared, the wider the smile.

“Okay,” he finally said. “No nicknames. Got it.”

Our staring match was interrupted by a ti

“Whoa,” Ma

I turned on him, snarling. “Take your hand off of me!” I couldn’t abide being touched so suddenly, with such disrespect.

Ma

There were classes among humans. I’d known there were, of course; I was not totally ignorant of power and structure. But America prided itself on being a free and equal society. I wondered who became first class, and how.

“Money,” Ma

“Okay,” I said. It wasn’t, but I would have to find a way to make allowances for his impulsive actions.

And my own. This body seemed to have its own set of rules and behaviors, and I was not entirely comfortable in controlling its responses.

I waited in silence while the first class section boarded—I could see no differences, in truth, between Ma

The hallway was narrow, chilly, and reeked of oil and metal. I coughed and tried not to breathe, but that was not possible.

When I reached the rounded door of the aircraft, I had a curious wave of anxiety. It’s so small. And so it was, not only the entrance, but the plane itself—smaller than I’d expected, tremendously fragile in its construction. I am entrusting myself to the care of humans.

“Hey,” Ma

I didn’t want to do it, but I stepped into the plane. I’d like to say it wasn’t as bad as I expected, but that would be a lie.

I survived the flight in much the same way I’d survived my fall from Dji

When we escaped from the confinement some five hours later, I was unsteady and weak with relief. The air in the jetway seemed clean and refreshing, after breathing the filthy recycled stuff, and the spring of metal and rubber under my feet felt almost joyous.

Leaving the airport was easier by far than I’d expected—we simply walked out, into the hot, dry air. The sun was low on the="6as low horizon, and the sky . . .

... Oh, the sky.

I stopped and stared. I had seen more beautiful things as a Dji

“Home sweet home,” Ma

We were only a few steps out of the building when a small human form ran headlong into Ma

I had not known Ma

Isabel turned her face toward me and smiled, and it was as if the sun had risen new and clean, full of warmth and impartial welcome. She was a lovely child, with skin the color of caramel and eyes of a dark, warm brown. A round little face, surrounded by glossy black curls. “Who’s that, Papa?”

“That’s Cassiel,” he told her. “She’s my new friend. Say hello to her.”

Isabel studied me for a few seconds, still smiling, and then said, “Hello. My papa’s taking me for pizza.”

“Oh, your papa is, is he?” Ma

The child pointed, and there, a few paces away next to a large dark red van, was an older, taller version of Isabel. She had the same long, curling hair, the same smile, but there was a distance to her. She was much more guarded.

She waved. Ma

I didn’t understand, but I knew he wanted reassurance. “I will not harm your family,” I said stiffly. In truth, they were not Wardens. Their lives meant little to me.

Ma

Ma

“Well?” he asked. “You coming or not?”

I had no choice. Ma

Ma

The structure of their house, on the other hand, was so new as to have no aetheric presence at all. “We just got it about six months ago,” Ma

I nodded, unsure what to say. It was a box. Walls, floors, ceilings. Cluttered with bright furniture and toys. Angela picked up some and moved them aside, but not as if she were worried about my opinion; she simply did it automatically. Isabel, seeing her mother’s actions, imitated her, picking up a doll and carrying it by one arm to drop it into a primary-colored box in the corner of the room.

I wondered if I would be expected to do that, as well.

I did not know the protocols, so I stood, watching, as Ma

Ma

“That’s my brother,” he said. “Luis.”

He thought I was looking at the picture that my fingers were touching. I picked up the frame and saw that it held the image of a man, handsome, a little younger than Ma

“He’s a Warden, too,” Ma