Interlude IV

On a street muffled in evening-quiet, a black canine sat at the base of the stairs leading to a wooden door. Victorian-style houses, pressed wall-to-wall like the overly familiar neighbors they were, lined both sides of the road, and a not-too-distant streak of light streamed upward, announcing a ship escaping the space port's confines. Here, though, the cobblestones were worn, albeit clean, and wanted no part of the stars.

A simple bronze plaque next to the door pronounced the establishment to be The Tea Room.

The canine rose with a shake to settle the fur ruffled by the breeze. A heavy collar with a slender tube attached hung loosely around the beast's neck. When the first paw hit the bottom step, a shimmer wrapt the four-legged form and, once it faded, a black-clad woman stood in the canine's place. Her snug top exposed a modest amount of cleavage and left her throat, adorned by a thick choker, bare. Leggings tucked into soft-soled boots, which made no sound as the woman conquered the stairs and entered The Tea Room.

Inside, more than a dozen small round tables gathered within easy reach of a central bar festooned with arcane mechanisms that whistled and steamed. The gentle hum of patrons mixed with the polite buzz of the aproned waitstaff. Toward the bar's rear, a solitary point of silence leaned against the polished wood; spiked silver hair and frosted blue eyes served ample warning to those who knew.

"Jack Frost." The woman's lips curled as if she smelled something foul.

At the host-stand, a young man looked up from the reservation book, mouth opened in greeting. It snapped shut when he saw the woman.

"Forerunner Onyxia. To what…" He cleared his throat and glanced toward the silver man. "I mean…"

Onyxia stepped to the host's shoulder and paused, her eyes heavy on Jack.

"He's been here? Not away?"

"O-of course." The host swallowed. "Every time he's scheduled."

She turned her eyes on the host, who flushed.

"I mean, we'd have reported it if he wasn't. The Ambassador…"

Shaking her head, Onyxia abandoned the man to his floundering and crossed The Tea Room's floor. Silence pooled around her and whispers rose in her wake. The table closest to Jack flagged down their waitress for their check and scurried away, only to linger near the register.

A barista leaned across the bar, extending a tall glass of steaming amber liquid toward Jack. He raised a pale, slender hand and rested one fingertip against the vessel. Frost leapt from the contact, and the steam stopped, leaving behind the chink of ice cubes on glass. Quickly, the barista placed the drink on a tray and chaffed her hand with a towel. A waiter collected the tray and hurried away from Jack's impassive gaze.

"Jack." Onyxia looked the silver man up and down. "What've you been up to?"

"As you see." Jack twitched a finger toward the surroundings. "Making myself useful."

"Really?" Onyxia leaned close, nostrils flaring. "Not gone wandering again?"

"What cause have I to wander?" Jack traced a lazy pattern on the bar, leaving a trail of frost.

"You had no cause last time."

Jack's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak.

"Not truly. And yet, where one Frost went, so did another."

"It was a long time ago." A faint mist, like that of a warm breath entering a winter's morning, gathered around Jack. "And the Second Rank Ambassador bade me stay and sicced her little bitch on me to ensure it." The words sprang like sleet from his mouth.

"Oh, you remember that?" Sharp white teeth flashed in not-a-grin.

"I always remember that." Jack iced the barista's next drink before she'd finished pouring the near-boiling liquid.

Onyxia uncapped the cylinder attached to her collar, withdrawing a tightly rolled piece of paper. She laid it on the bar, over Jack's frost swirls, and smoothed it flat to reveal a silver-haired girl next to a lighthouse-emblazoned sign.

The teacup in the barista's hand shattered, and she released a startled yelp as the block of frozen tea struck her foot. She glared at Onyxia and knelt to clean up the mess.

"Jack." Onyxia's lips thinned. "I know you miss her. We all do. But trying to find a replacement—" She pressed a fist to her mouth and swallowed. "Whoever this is, she's not her."

A breath puffed from Jack's lips and the cold that had crept so subtly as to be unnoticed dissipated, leaving a rush of warmth in its place. As Jack's lips twitched, Onyxia took two steps back and braced with her arms raised as if to block.

"Oh, Onyxia. You think this is about Silver?" A single, almost inaudible ha escaped Jack. "You have no idea."