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The river wasn't far. The women passed the place for traditional cleansing rituals watched by a statue of a goddess and forded the flow to get to a small structure on one of the islands.
Maddie didn't enjoy the slimy touch of the river flora on her ankles, but the running water meant no emotions - which was good.
The shrine was locked, but Ishanvi plucked a few pieces of reed and stuck them as eyelashes onto a carved face. Then she let couple drops of river water drip onto them like tears.
The door opened with a flash of magic.

"The river?" Maddie asked. "What's special about it?"
"It flows from Ganesh's trunk," Ishanvi pointed out. "And see here, there is a trunk floating on the river flowing out of the trunk."
"And the trunk is made out of a trunk of a palm tree?"
"Exactly!"
"But what are we supposed to do with it? And where is the trunk trunk out of a trunk?"
"I don't know," Ishanvi shrugged. "The message seems to have been 'truncated'..."
She giggled.
Maddie felt a headache coming on.
Or maybe it was just a song.
"Elephant god's trunk chucking out a trunky trunk..."

Here. This shrine.
Maddie stopped and took a closer look. The corner of the temple seemed less frequented, for some reason.
"This is Brahma and Saraswati," Ishanvi supplied, dropping a coin in the plate and receiving a thumbprint of blessing from the guardian monk. "The creator god and the power to create, one cannot exist without the other. True ideal of marriage."
Her eyes shone with excitement.
"Oh, I can't wait to achieve that blessed state of union! Being single is so... restrictive."
Maddie nodded, absently.
"Do you see any clues?" she asked.
"There!" Ishanvi pointed out. "The great river."

One of the signs at the entrance of the temple said "NO Shoes" inside. There were cubbies to leave your footwear in and the attendant was offering special felted "booties" to those who were disinclined to go barefoot.
Maddie looked between the alternatives. She decided to brave the pavement. After all, she was here to track someone...
The stones whispered to her of joys and sorrows left in the footprints of countless travelers.
The tendrils of magic wafted in the incense-filled air and glowed in every statue carving.
But she looked for a specific one - the one from the udyog.

The message wasn't on the pattern loop. It was hidden in a compartment on the loom construction. Hidden by magic. Which was weird.
The text talked about "emptying oneself of everything burdensome and old, making way for something new". It also held a name of a monastery.
"Looks like we're not going anywhere else right now," Maddie shrugged.
"But... we were supposed to see each other today," Ishanvi sighed. "I miss him terribly."
"I believe that is the point of this exercise - to see what you can go without," the agent pointed out kindly. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder... "

"...but I thought you're already engaged," Maddie thought hard about formulating her protest.
"Well, yes, but... he probably wants to tell me the wedding date!" Ishanvi continued to stare misty eyed at the fabric.
"He's not here, so we need another clue," Maddie tried again. "One that would tell us where to go next."
"Oh."
The agent started looking for the controls again. The loom was an older type, running on a punchcard loop. Maddie looked at it, when she suddenly felt it - magic.
That's weird.
"Ishanvi, look here."
The young woman looked and then tried to touch the loop.

They found the next clue, which sent them to a weaving udyog in a maze of tiny lanes off the main streets.
Not a place I'd choose to be in after dark, Maddie thought despite not feeling any outward threats.
The loom was clicking and clattering, the beams lifting and lowering the warp threads, the shuttle flying back and forth, the finished fabric slowly crawling onto the bolt.
The lighting was dim.
"It talked about the program running the loom..." Maddie looked around to locate it.
"No need," Ishanvi said, suddenly excited. "I see the message. This is wedding fabric!"

The young woman seemed a bit lost.
In the hustle and bustle of the metropolis it wouldn't have been surprising, if she were a tourist. But she wasn't.
"Are you alright?" Maddie asked.
"Y-yes," she jumped. "I'm just looking for..."
She trailed off, waving a piece of paper in a vague gesture.
"...clues." she finished. "He's playing games with me again. I'm no good at it."
"Maybe I can help," the agent offered, leading her into a café.
Some time later the two women called a tuk-tuk and set off on a treasure hunt, which Ishanvi's fiance prepared for her.

The mandalas and the visualisations, the gardens and the clothes... everything around was colourful and intricate. And delicate and unique.
Just like people.
Maybe not at first glance, but definitely when you looked closer.
It wasn't just fingerprints that were distinctive, it was so much more.
The combination of emotions, abilities, motivations, magic... all woven into a beautiful pattern, a tapestry. Similar thought they might have been, each one was individual, each one was different.
Like snowflakes. Like leaves. Like whale flukes. Like butterfly wings.
It took so little to destroy one forever... and it was impossible to replace them.

To whom it may concern:

I submit for your consideration my application for the advertised position.
Although you might notice some "gap years" on my resume, I was never entirely out of the market and always kept abreast of the latest developments in our field. I am well versed in working in diverse environments and while I might not be the quickest learner, I am very loyal.
While fashions have come and gone, I have stayed consistent and have been the best leader and achieved the most consistently excellent results in any team I have been placed with.

Sincerely,
Motivation

"Great job, Lioness. Although you didn't actually feel them, did you?" Tortoise inclined her head.
"No," the young agent shook hers. "I just... never forget a face. Or..."
It was more complex than that.
What Eagle saw her do was not about remembering faces. It was recognizing people despite their face. Whether they try to mask themselves, aged or changed - she just knew it was them.
Emotions probably were a part of that, but it was also a part of her coping mechanism - if you know it's them, you know what to expect.
Especially if they wanted to be forgotten.

It wasn't the bazaar this time. It was a Holi parade. Visibility was poor due to the colourful powders in the air. You couldn't hear your own thoughts in the celebratory din. The emotional charge was too much to take anywhere but on the outskirts of the crowd.
The elephants looked magnificent, but felt far from it.
But that wasn't Lioness' concern right now.
There!
She motioned for "her" squad to follow. The wannabe terrorist cell never knew what hit them.
"I can see why Swan picked you as her protege."
"Actually, this was why Eagle made me his 'pickling'."

Her new environment continued to surprise her.
"Seriously?" she looked at Shamila. "I never liked these..."
"Humor me," the Indian woman smiled and pushed the door open into a huge hall filled with trampolines.
Two hours later a thoroughly exhausted, laughing Maddie staggered out into the street.
"That was... different," she turned serious. "I used to be terrified and bored by places like that..."
"And now you know it wasn't you. It was people you were with. Early onset empathy does a lot of damage. Reclaim whatever of your childhood you still can. Relearn who you are, then move forward."

Maddie was, once again, curled up in a hammock, laptop in her lap.
"Anything good going on in Prague?"
"I haven't checked," she responded absently to the - thankfully neutral - voice.
She turned the screen towards Vishal.
"You do know we have a very well-stocked library here, don't you?"
Maddie nodded, then shrugged.
"I prefer focusing on the text, rather than on how others felt about it."
It was his turn to nod.
"Although *she* is right. For correspondence, the modern way might be quicker, but it gives an empath way less information... It keeps us guessing, just like everyone else."

"I cannot do it," Lioness exhaled, "I will never amount to anything with this."
"Give yourself grace, child," a kind voice responded. "Now, focus on that candle, and just... clear your mind."
It was easier to do looking at the dancing flame, than with her eyes closed. Soon her mind was a roaring inferno of nothingness.
Her mentor shot an emotion at her.
There was no shield.
The foreign feeling got engulfed by the flames and disintegrated.
So did the next one.
With the third one the flames flickered out.
"This will take time and patience - but it will work."

"What? What have you done to me?" Maddie felt disoriented, as if waking up from a dream that was too real.
The old lips smiled.
"Building a wall around a garden is not the best way to protect it," a voice echoed in the young woman's mind. "It will never be strong enough to push out the wind and yet passable enough to let you feel it on your cheeks."
"Others are doing it."
"Maybe others have palaces instead of gardens."
"But... how do I change that?"
"You don't. You can't. You work with it... or fail."
Maddie's eyes widened.

The sunrays dance on the ground as the leaves move in a gentle breeze. The gravel under my feet crunches pleasantly and the branches keep time with my heartbeat. Everything stills as I fill my lungs with the fragrant air.
Neverending display of plants meets my eyes.
Red, green and white pepper corns on their vines, hanging in clusters like grapes of wrath.
Pineapple crowns peaking out of the underbrush with their defensive prickle.
Bananas carelessly reflecting the gold of sun in a burst of joy.
Coffee beans hiding coyly under the leaves, full of hope and peace.
Magical. Real.

And I thought Swan was... seasoned. Maddie smirked, only to send a paranoid look around, as if the Director could hear her half across the world.
"But then, she isn't the only telepath alive, either."
The clear voice made Maddie jump.
"I didn't mean..." she started, but the wizened old lady only waved her apology away.
She didn't ask the young agent to sit down. Instead she just levitated herself to her eye level.
The silence has become almost oppressive, as the bottomless dark eyes bore into Maddie's soul.
"You don't like hiding, do you, little one," she finally spoke.

The mandala like pattern glowed for a second and then darkened.
"There, done," Maddie sighed, dropping the chalk.
Vishal looked at it and laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"I think you made a mistake in your concept, Lioness."
He traced some of the lines, explaining their meaning once again.
"But that's what I did!"
"You painted them in a different order. If you go like this..." he changed direction, "they are still protection, just... a different kind."
His emotions explained the rest and she blushed.
"But don't worry, it would only work against rodents."
"Better stay away from it then, Chipmunk!"

"Again!"
There! a surge of emotions let Maddie know where her attacker was a split second before his blow landed.
"I almost had it this time," she stated, picking herself up.
"Your reactions are not quick enough for this."
"I'm blindfolded and your emotion are covered until last second."
"Have you tried listening to my steps?"
"No," she admitted sheepishly. "I was too focused..."
"Again then."
This time she listened and as she felt the attack coming, she leapt at him... and he threw her down.
"Evade, if you can. Rashness will make you a hero - but a dead one."

Maddie took one more handful of the curry and then pushed her plate away.
"Am I putting you off your appetite?" her companion asked curiously.
She shot him a look - was that in her file too?
Her empathy took several forms before she knew what it was. One of them was affecting her sense of smell and taste.
She almost stopped eating for a month, and preferred eating on her own ever since.
But this time that wasn't the problem.
"You're fine, it's the curry itself. It's been a week and my mouth is so numb everything tastes the same..."

Everything about this internship was deceptively vacation-like.
Except she had to prove she is an agent worth her salt.
"I hate crowds!" she murmured entering the crowded bazaar.
Shamila headed towards a stall.
Joy. Excitement. Maddie picked out the emotions of the seller.
Displeasure she identified as her companion tried to bargain.
The Indian turned away, inclining her head.
Lust Maddie felt, focusing on the couple she indicated. Maybe fondness too. she amended.
Before they could switch to another target, she felt something behind her back...
"Get down!"
Shamila tore her to the ground, a sabre swishing above their heads.

"Ready?"
Maddie nodded slightly.
Vishal took her by the hand, door creaked and the blindfolded empath was lead through. She wrinkled her nose almost at once. Her hand made contact with something leathery.
Her shield cracked and she gasped.
"Hey, friend," she shushed automatically, fighting for control. "You're safe now. Whatever happened... we'll fix it."
The emotions were... different. Powerful and unchecked. Raw.
Which didn't make them any less unpleasant. Or overwhelming.
A hand removed her blindfold.
"No creature should be experiencing this," she said, shuddering.
Vishal shrugged.
"If we had money to buy out every working elephant in India..."

Shamila found Maddie pacing in her little room. The bob-length hair around the European's face stuck out at odd angles, the longer hair in the back laid slick, dripping fragrant oil onto her back.
"The scalp massage was supposed to relax you."
"Someone should have told that to the troubled masseuse..." Maddie sighed. "I did relax."
"You let down your shield."
"Isn't that what 'relax' means?"
Shamila squirted water out of a bottle on her head, causing the hair to smooth somewhat - and drip even more. "You're an empath. Your shield should be like oil on ducks' wings against water."

She half sat, half lied in the hammock, reading some reports.
"Those will still be there tomorrow, you know?" friendly eyes appeared over her screen. "They didn't send you here to keep you looking back."
That was true. She was supposed to be learning, broadening her horizons, training her powers.
But it was hard.
He closed the laptop and offered her a journal and a pencil.
The leather binding and the pages looked old. Not one she would have picked.
Memories and emotions tended to linger on these things.
"Read them... and then add your own. You can do it."

Maddie was still reeling from the paradigm shift of the last month. Or maybe the jet-lag. Or the...
"Ready for the tour?" Vishal flashed her smile number 275 since she got here last night.
She could feel his excitement and pride. A month ago she'd be feeling the same... Now she was aware that she feels something he doesn't - curiosity. Owning emotions was taking some getting used to.
A slight hint of impatience from him told her he's waiting for answer.
"Lead the way!"
And he did - through the banana plantation and ayurvedic garden housing the local branch of Moria.

"Unfortunately, there will be no more reports from Cheetah," Wolf stated, opening a file.
"Meteorologists and various other experts are still scratching their heads about where all the extra water came into the Eufrates from. The citizens of Haditha thank any and all deities their dam held up."
He continued, looking at the two other directors.
"Anah township is recovering. The fortress... well, noone's going to search it without snorkel anytime soon. And we have preventive measures in place..."
"No survivors?"
"Total surprise. No time to evacuate."

Zaria, teacup in hand, sat in al-jida's kitchen, surrounded by family telling stories.

The aircrafts were finally en route.
Unmanned ones scouted ahead.
The sensors worked better than expected, picking up places of magical interest.
He jotted them into a map to come back to later.
They slipped across the final border.
Last air traffic control to avoid.
The whole damn city glowed with ultimate magical signature. Which confirmed they had the right place... and meant they will have to get much closer to pinpoint the target.
"Call the drones back, take us low and slow, prepare for final..."
The lattermost word remained unsaid as the drones and then the plane suddenly disintegrated.

Menší dohled, větší možnosti, říkali.
Seznámíš se s elfama, říkali.
Klamavá reklama.
Zavřeli mě do sklepení... jo, pravda, elfové tam byli taky. Ale legrace ne.
Pak nám řekli "bojuj".
Proti Valar?
Rozohnil jsem se u toho pěkně... ale nedopadlo to.
Vyrazil jsem na vlastní pěst.
S Entama jsem nepochodil, chytlo jim ode mě stádo...
S trollama jsme rozjeli slušnou párty, smíchy skoro pukali - pak pukli doopravdy. Zatracená denní hvězda.
Já to odnes kocovinou, tak jsem zalezl do jeskyně se vyspat.
Ty trpaslíky jsem chtěl jenom slušně požádat, aby nekutali aspoň o víkendu.
Neposlouchali.
Hele, výprava... klucí, nemáte Ibáč?
Tak ne.

Money could buy everything, if you knew where to look.
White, gray and black sources abounded.
But why waste, when you have a different option?
One of the things that didn't have time to change (thanks to bureaucracy) was that military bases were protected only by non-magical military means.
From a handful of carefully obtained (and economically resold) prisoners they found out which of the bases had what they needed.
Drones, a large enough transport aircraft and other odds and ends.
The intruders tore through the camp and were gone before anyone outside suspected mischief.
The equipment couldn't be traced.

She couldn't believe it.
After all the time... they were still there. Still alive...
...and right now very much in harm's way.
She needed to act immediately.
"Are you sure your information is correct?" he asked.
"As sure as one can be," she shrugged.
"I'd rather you tell me the truth, Zaria."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"It's my family, master. If we go through with the plan..."
To her surprise, he smiled.
He could afford to be magnanimous. It was no skin of his nose, after all.
"I'll tell the sheikh we need to revise the plan."

The plan was getting too complicated, and Mawhub cursed his choice of body, as another splitting headache hit him.
"Keep it simple, sheikh," he gritted. "No conspiracy, just plain old siege."
Simple? Like the shebang with the statue simple? his doppleganger asked.
"One airplane. Maybe two. Under the radar. One team on the ground..."
"How do you propose to pinpoint the location?"
"Magical defences are rarely invisible to those who know how to look."
Sure, you see them from a mile off... oh, wait. Are you sure you don't want my input?
"What about our guests... do they know anything?"

There was a commotion in one of the outbuildings.
Zaria picked up her pace.
"What is this?" she asked when she came upon the new fence.
"A sty," a voice explained behind her.
She turned with a jerk.
"But..." she trailed off, as she realized religion and tradition are no longer taken into account here.
"It's just one more move in the war choreography," the sheikh explained. "When dancing with the devil, you better use all the steps you know."
She looked at the animals, happily rutting and rolling in the mud.
"Isn't the use of biological weapons too... mundane?"

Before the third try, Mouse managed to make the two youngsters laugh.
As their fingers touched the ouija, the pattern finally started emerging.
Just a little more...
"לַעֲצוֹר!" she intoned and everything disappeared.
The two blinked in surprise.
"You'll heal now," she assured them.
Raven found her in the kitchenette making hot chocolate.
"Want some?"
"No, I just came for the report."
"On the table. Quite fascinating case, really."
He skimmed the papers.
"Owl and I have to tie up the lose ends," he nodded, leaving.
"I'll be here, washing dishes," she shrugged. "If you need anything else."
"Thank you, Minnie."

"Let us cut to the bone now," Mawhub said, accepting a cup of tea (and surreptitiously checking it for poison). "You had something quite powerful here. And I want to know what and where it is."
The sixteen year old - oldest surviving son of the house - measured him with serious eyes.
"I'll tell you about it, but the gist is, my father had it on him... when you threw a building on his head. So if you want it, I can show you where to start digging."
"Son of a dog," Farouk spit grabbing a pick-axe. "Better be telling truth."

"They said you were less bloodthirsty than others," Mawhub half-smiled at the sheikh.
"One does not hold punches back when the very soul of humanity is at stake, brother. You have opened my eyes. I would be foolish not to act on it."
The smile grew more satisfied.
As they stepped into the conquered courtyard, Mawhub adressed the huddled together inhabitants:
"Turn away from the weak faith that didn't protect you. You tried to use magic... now open yourself up to be used by it."
After they agreed, he asked for someone to sacrifice.
To make certain they mean it.

"Was it this awkward and uncomfortable before?" Mouse asked when they went through the incantation and... nothing.
"No. It was relaxed. And titillating. Sexy," Marek spoke up with a hint of defiance. "It was supposed to be a foreplay. We were looking to have a threesome after."
Eliška speared him with a glare, looking up for the first time.
"No. We. Weren't."
"I was," he shrugged, satisfied to be getting a raise out of someone.
Mouse raised her eyebrow at him, unperturbed.
"It would be first time I've heard about contraceptive ghost," she shrugged. "But at least we're getting somewhere..."

The whir and whistle of missiles formed a weirdly unsettling melody on the bass of detonative percussions. It was an ear splitting racket, but, if you were close enough, you could hear something else. A cheerful clatter of metal on metal, as skilled hands engraved letters and words on shell casings. And a voice intoning an incantation, too solemn and serene to belong into the warlike setting.
And yet, it was the most quiet sound of them all, the soft patter of liquid, that was crucial to the success of this operation.
"The wall is breeched," someone yelled.
Everybody cheered.