Page 87 of Renegades

He shook his head. “I have to intend to bring it to life as I’m drawing it. Otherwise it’s just a drawing. Besides, even if I could, they wouldn’t be any bigger than the page they’re on. It would be sort of like making a super-ornate pop-up book.” He paused, and added, “Though someday I would like to try making a life-size mural—a landscape that I could make real. It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

Nova flipped back to the drawing of the statue. She traced her thumb beside the hooded figure, careful to keep it hovering above the page so she wouldn’t smudge the lines. “This is at City Park, isn’t it?”

“You’ve been there?”

“My parents used to take me to the playground when I was little. One time I wandered off without them realizing it, and I ended up here.” She tapped her finger against the page, where the hooded figure stood serene but imposing. “My parents were in such a panic when they finally found me, but… I loved it. I felt like I’d just stumbled onto something no one else knew about. I even remember…” She hesitated as filaments of memories spun through her thoughts. She frowned and glanced down at the drawing, then shook her head. “You’re really good.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” said Adrian, taking the sketch pad as she handed it to him. He fidgeted with the pencil, but didn’t turn the page. “But enough about me and my extraordinary artwork.What sort of hobbies do you have to occupy your extra fifty-six hours per week?”

Nova looked across at the library. It was far past midnight and the building was dark as a tomb, its single lamppost by the sidewalk dim and flickering. Seeing it this way, the place might have been abandoned these past ten years, just as it might have been if Cronin hadn’t chosen to keep it operating even during the Age of Anarchy. Even if that philanthropic cause had been a cover for his black-market dealing… it had to count for something, right?

“Mostly I train. And study. And… tinker.” She cast him a sideways smile. “Some of us can’t just draw up a tool and get to use it. We have to actuallyinventit.”

“I invent things,” he said, tapping the eraser side of his pencil against his temple. “In my mind.”

“It’s really not the same thing.”

He grinned.

“But I guess I’ve taken up lots of hobbies over the years. Not many stick, but I’m always trying to find new ways to keep busy.”

“Like what sorts of hobbies?”

“I don’t know. I took up knitting for a while, but never progressed beyond really ragged scarves. Then there was bird-watching, juggling, embroidery, astronomy—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Adrian, laughing. “Start over. Knitting? Seriously?”

“It’s an undervalued art,” said Nova, managing to keep a straight face. It had, in fact, been a four-month preoccupation when she was twelve or so, but she’d been less interested in making winter accessories and more interested in the idea of being able to tote around weapons as vicious as ten-inch-long needles and no one batting an eye about it.

“And bird-watching?” said Adrian.

“Bird-watching, yep.” That hobby had been Leroy’s idea, who had insisted that it would help develop her patience, stealth, and observation skills. “Mostly around the bay. Did you know this area is home to over forty species of waterfowl?”

“In fact,” said Adrian, “I was not aware of our waterfowl population, but that does seem like good information to have.”

“You never know when it might come up in conversation.”

He grinned again and Nova saw that his cheeks dimpled, just a tiny bit, once his smile got broad enough.

She swallowed.

“Okay, what else did you say? Juggling?”

She could still hear Ingrid waxing on about the many physical benefits juggling offered—from dexterity to balance to hand-eye coordination.

“I got pretty good at it, actually,” she said.

“If I draw you some bowling pins, will you give me a demonstration?”

“Nope.”

“How about some scarves? Softballs? Flaming torches?”

She turned her head away, in part to hide the smile she was having trouble keeping back. “We’re supposed to be on a very important mission, you know. I’d hate to be a distraction.”

“Fine. I’ll let it go… for now. What was the other thing you mentioned?”

“Astronomy.”

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