We continued marching, in higher spirits. There may have been a bit of me helping her walk ...and a bit of her acting coy.
Who would have thought? Forget fancy penthouses and expensive champagne, you drink boiled pee in the desert and it defrosts the Ice Queen. 100% guaranteed or you get your money back!

Wait.
Does that mean that mom wasn't always like mom?

My mind avoided that topic, not going anywhere near it, both Mini Shirous were holding signs that screamed "VERBOTEN".

Rin's voice helped me dodge those dark thoughts.
-"And then they pickle you?"
She was still coming to terms with the real meaning of the Mage Association's highest Honour.
"And how...when...You said you saw your predecessor's jars. How did you gain access to that room?"

I made a face.
-"Emiyas are known to work with Enforcers on occasion. A new Enforcer mistook me for my dad and I mistook her for our contact for a new contract."
Between Baz's thick Irish accent and my poor grasp of English, it was a miracle we could hold a conversation.
"We got on like a house on fire, both liked talking bout the latest capture, how this mark messed up, how we would have dodged our tails. Yet she was so naïve that I took her to mum post haste."
I giggled.
"The naïvety was promptly crushed, incinerated, and thoroughly purged until there wasn't even a shred of it. Mum was a slave here..."
The memory of her tales chills me every. Single. Time.
"...let's say she knows about the realities of the world."

She tapped her parched lips with a broken nail.
-"But you said you couldn't use guns. Yet you shoot down the vehicles behind us. Explain."

My face split in glee and I tapped my temple.
-"If my accuracy is so crap that I miss 99 shots in a row, I only need to spray 100 to hit. Spray n Pray. The tracers helped me to scare them, my plan was for the driver to get cold feet, eventually one of the tracers hit the jeep's frame and it ignited."

Rin patted my cheek.
-"We will need to consider adoption then."

-"Why you!"

As we crested a beefy dune, we saw the telltale signs of a nearby town. With any luck, we could use the money we looted and buy a used car. Add some supplies on our backs, we would be completing the rest of the trip without issue.
With any luck.
I pursed my lips. I hated my rotten luck.