Page 143 of Grave Situation

I finally wake up enough to process that this can’t be a good thing. “Can you summarize what you want to tell him? He’ll be less annoyed at being woken if I have the details for him right away.”

“No,Ineed to talk to him. I need you to let him have control of your mouth.”

I stare at him in shock. It’s not that I’m uncomfortable letting Master have that power—we’ve done it before, and I trust him completely—but is Jaimin really not even going to tell me what the problem is?

“But—”

“Talon, please. I need to be certain nothing is lost in relay, and since you’ll be listening anyway, there’s no point in saying it all twice. I’ve been worrying this thought for hours, and it’s urgent that Master Samoine know.”

I nod—whatever this is takes precedence over my ego. Bracing myself, I knock at Master’s mind, sharply enough to wake him.

“Talon? Are you being attacked?”

“No, nothing like that. J?—”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“A few minutes later than when I was woken from a sound sleep. Jaimin urgently needs to talk to you—directly to you.”

He’s sputtering when I reach for him, but after a moment, he reaches back, and I grimace at the disconcerting feeling of being pushed aside in my own head.

“Jaimin? Talon said you needed to speak with me.”

“Apologies for waking you, but this is… If I’m right, this is more important than anything.”

“Tell me.”

“I need information about the godsborn.”

I can feel Master’s surprise echoing mine. “Yes, Talon and I have discussed that. I’ll begin searching?—”

“No, specific information. I need any physiological or medical background we might have on the godsborn.”

“Medicalbackground? They’re gods—would they need medical attention?”

A muscle twitches in Jaimin’s cheek. “That’s what I need to know. Also genealogical and other information for the families they’re born to.”

That shocks me enough that I take back control of my mouth. “Families? I don’t understand—what do you mean by born?”

“If I recall the stories correctly, they’re born human—godsborn. They have the power of their godhood, though somewhat limited by their humanity. But they have to be born, not just appear fully grown. If that’s right, I need information about it to confirm or disprove my theory.”

“What theory?” Master asks, and Jaimin hesitates.

“I don’t want to say yet. In case I’m wrong. If I think it gets to the point you need to know, regardless of evidence, I’ll tell you. But for now, I’d rather wait.”

Master and I digest that silently. He’s really not going to tell us?

“Is there anything else?” Master asks finally.

“Power. Anything that might give a clue as to how their power is limited and what abilities they still have. Th-That’s especially important.” It’s hard to tell in the low light, but Jaimin seems more shaken than I’d realized, and guilt stabs at me. This was clearly urgent for him, but instead of taking him at his word,I had to stop and question. I need to show more faith in him in the future, the way he does for me.

“Very well. I’ll begin searching in earnest tomorrow, though truthfully, I don’t even know where to look. I?—”

The stone pulses, and Master stops midsentence. “What was that?”

“The stone,” I tell him. “It has something to contribute, which makes a nice change.” Even as I’m speaking, an image rises in my mind’s eye of a small room lined with cabinets. They take up so much space that even in a mental picture, the room feels claustrophobic. Still, it’s obviously where the stone wants Master to start looking.

“Well, that’s nice, but we don’t know where that is,” I tell it.

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