“Crystal,” Kathryn said softly, as Mrs. Simmons returned to her desk.
Kathryn patted my hand, gazing wide-eyed at me. “So, somebody besides me knows about the Psi Fighters and all their great adventures? And you were planning to tell me this when?”
I chuckled softly. “Kathryn, she’s a Whisperer.”
“A Whisperer? What kind? Dog? Horse? Ghost?”
“The Whisperers sort of manage the outside world for us. Mrs. Simmons runs the library, and helps me when I need privacy. Like now. She doesn’t know what I do. And you, missy, you know nothing about the Psi Fighters, except that they exist. You know my secret because you’re my best friend, and the Kilodan allowed it. I mean, it took forever for him to say yes. He thinks you’re good for me.”
Kathryn stared off into space, slowly shaking her head. “And here I always thought I was like your Alfred, your loyal butlerish person, the only one you trusted because I had changed your diapers and raised you from an infant while your parents were off being zillionaires. I never realized I was subjected to bureaucratic approval. I suppose they had to do a background check or search my dental records?”
“No, they probably scanned your mind when you weren’t looking.”
“Okay, I can live with that. Now, back to this promotion. If you get to be Kilodan, do I get a raise?”
“You’re not my butler.”
“Good point. Could I be a Whisperer?”
“Not possible,” Mrs. Simmons said from her desk.
Kathryn threw her hands in the air. “Why not?”
“Because you would need to whisper!”
“Oh…okay, gotcha. Tell you what, Rin, here’s the plan—you start on that old book while I do my algebra. If you find anything interesting, let me know. Quietly.”
“Good plan.”
I read in silence for several minutes, only once allowing myself to wonder whether the book was anything more than a loaner, when I found something. “Oh, this is cool.”
“What?”
I continued to read in silence.
“What?” Kathryn repeated.
“It’s about the Knights. It says they are masters of the mistaken impression.”
“We talking bad guys or politicians?”
I did a mental eye roll at her. “They’re liars. They use little bits of truth to make big lies seem honest.”
“Okay, they’re politicians. I don’t see where you’re going with this.” She flipped a page in her book.
Kathryn was not being as much help as I had hoped. I went back to reading in silence. Then I saw something that sent chills through me. “I think this is why the Kilodan didn’t want me to be involved. Oh, this is awful.”
Kathryn closed her math book and leaned toward me. “Speak.”
“It says that once you defeat a Knight, he has to be destroyed. Kathryn, I can’t do that.”
“Tad harsh, isn’t it? Why not just lock them up like normal criminals?”
“Knights aren’t normal criminals. Jails can’t hold them. They’re too powerful.”
“Send them to therapy, then. Oh, gimme that thing.” She snatched the book right out of my hands. After a minute of silent reading, she jabbed a finger into the book. “See, right here’s your answer. Do a Memory Lash on him!”
That got my attention. “Huh?”
“It says right here, a Memory Lash will change a Knight in ways only someone who has experienced it can comprehend. Remorse will consume him until he is incapable of performing the dark acts of the Walpurgi. See, there’s your answer.”
“Oh, joy,” I mumbled.
Kathryn spread her hands wide. “The Memory Lash makes a Knight stop being a Knight. I would think that’s a good thing.”
“It would be, except that I hate the Memory Lash.”
“That’s cool. What exactly is a Walpurgi?”
“That’s what the Knights call themselves.”
“Awesome. And a Memory Lash would be…”
I scowled. “It is the cruelest weapon I know. It makes you remember things. The meanest things you ever did.”
“Big whoop. Unless you’re, like, a masochist, how’s that a weapon?”
“The Lash twists your memories. Say you beat up a little kid just for the fun of it.”
“That would be my brother,” Kathryn said. “The little dweeb deserved it, and I have fond memories.”
“You would remember the kicking and the punching and the crying exactly as it happened, but you would be the victim instead of the bully. You would feel what he felt. If he were in pain, you would hurt. If he were scared, you’d feel the terror. If he were screaming for his mommy, you would be screaming. The worst part isn’t the pain, though.”
“No?” Kathryn’s eyebrows drew together. “What could be worse? I pummeled the little twerp.”
“The remorse. The Lash makes you really understand how your victim felt. You just want to take it back, but you know you can’t. Ever. And you’re filled with such miserable regret that you want to die. One time, when I was little, I got mad at Susie for ripping the head off my doll. I smacked her little bum hard.”