Cora sat on her sofa in her living room, staring blankly at the wall. Her mind whirled with the question of just what to do about the Heart of the Mountain and Kylen's problem. As much as she wanted to help, she had a feeling that she just didn't have enough information.
Part of her wanted to go crying to Lorenz. He'd be happy to research anything right now. When she'd seen Andrea in Cochran, she'd mentioned that he'd holed up in some mage town.
Cora had been baffled, and then she'd browsed the forums. Now, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to pry Lorenz out of his mage town with any number of crowbars. It was like a place made for people like Lorenz. For all his jockness, he was a nerd at heart.
Cora paused and made a mental note to not go to campus anytime soon. His coach and mentors were probably ready to tear someone's throat out right now, and she wasn't willing to be the scapegoat for their ire. Gerald wasn't available, else she'd point them in his direction.
Cora glanced towards her front door at the sound of rapid knocking. Frowning, she stood up. A quick wave at the wall behind the sofa called up a variety of security screens, one of them showing her Nate.
"Coming!" She got up, dusting imaginary dirt off of her pants.
Cora was faintly worried. The last she'd heard, Nate was off exploring some labyrinth his guild had discovered. He'd even turned off his chat to concentrate which had given her a bit of peace and quiet.
She opened the door. Nate frowned at her and charged into her condo. Cora closed the door, struggling to find words to say to his angry face. Finally, she settled on a neutral tone.
"What's the matter?" Cora scanned her memory to see if she'd done anything that would upset him and decided that it must be more parent troubles.
"What's the matter? You're asking me? I should be asking you. But wait, you don't even bother to tell me anything anymore!" Nate exploded, pacing around her living room.
"What are you talking about," Cora asked, striving for a lighthearted tone even as her heart sank.
"What am I talking about? Are you still trying to pull that nonsense with me?" Nate stopped and faced her, brown eyes drilling into her.
Cora plopped back on her sofa and dragged a pillow into her lap. She glowered back at him.
"I have no clue what you're talking about." Cora let out a little harrumph of sound.
"Let me start. What about this Gerald Stone guy?" Nate ground out.
"Gerald?" Cora parroted, eyes widening even as the sinking feeling turned into a black hole of oblivion in her middle.
"Yes, Gerald, the guy who's got you living like a nun and messing up both Heidi and Lorenz's lives," Nate shot back.
"Well, he's not really messing with Heidi. I don't think," Cora muttered as she started plucking at the tasseled fringe on the pillow.
"Cora! This is serious! Why didn't you tell me?" Nate asked, pulling the pillow out of her arms.
"I've got it handled. That's why I didn't say anything," Cora argued.
"Handled? Really? Because from where I'm standing, you're a hermit, Heidi's in the smothering bosom of her family, and Lorenz has turned into some game nerd from a regular one!" Nate tossed the pillow back on the sofa next to Cora.
Cora took a second to study her cousin, to really study him. Nate was dressed more haphazardly than usual, much more than his usual proclamation of 'this is my style!' could account for. His undershirt was untucked, and his sneakers were mismatched. He wasn't even wearing socks.
"I'm moving in," Nate announced.
"It's not that bad, and no, you can't move in," Cora protested.
"I'll take one of those units upstairs. Most of this place is empty anyways, and if that wasn't a red flag, Cora…" Nate let his voice trail off as he stalked to her kitchen.
Cora huffed out a breath as she heard him rummaging around in her refrigerator. Then she froze.
"Anything but those dumplings! I had to pry that place out of Lorenz!" Cora said, springing up.
"What's in these things? They're awesome," Nate muttered around a mouthful, sticking the rest into the microwave on a plate.
Cora paused in the doorway, dumbstruck. She owned the place, and she wasn't that fast at finding food and tableware. Then she strode forward to bar his way to the microwave.
"You can order your own!" Cora said. "First page in the order book," she added, nodding towards the binder resting on the counter.
"Stingy," Nate muttered, scooping up the book and heading back to her living room.
Cora soon followed with the reheated dumplings. She also brought a pitcher of lemonade and glasses, all on a tray.
"So, where did you hear about Gerald?" She asked, pouring them glasses of lemonade.
"I was taking a break, and a local news flash popped up on my feed." Nate took a sip of the lemonade while pulling out his phone and dialing.
Cora digested that unpalatable fact while he placed his order. She was rather surprised at the amount of food he ordered.
"Now," Nate said, hanging up his phone. "Why don't you tell me just what happened when I went climbing?"
******
"So, Nate found out," Cora told Heidi over the phone. She fell back across her bed. "He's moving into one of the empty units upstairs."
"How did he find out?" Heidi asked, sounding vaguely sympathetic.
"A random news flash," Cora moaned, throwing her arm over her eyes. "I had to explain the entire thing to him. He's so mad, Heidi."
"I'm still mad about it, so no biggie." Heidi chuckled. "So, you have empty units in your building? That's a red flag right there!"
"You, too!" Cora sat up. "What do you mean by red flag? I thought I was just being safe."
"Honey, you make a huge chunk of change renting out apartments and retail spaces," Heidi said. "You not renting something is suspicious."
"How did you know I was renting out spaces?" Cora asked.
"Cora. Your hobby is making money. Well, at least it used to be before you got that capsule. Plus, I actually read the prospectuses you send every quarter. I know part of the fund is invested in real estate. Never knew it was so lucrative, but hey!" Heidi laughed. Then she lowered her voice. "Do you have any others? It's getting so claustrophobic here!"
"I thought you liked living at home," Cora teased.
"I did, but then they started asking about boyfriends and hinting at matchmakers." Heidi sighed. "I really need a break from that. So, if you have another one, then please? I promise I'll help you with that weird project you keep talking about."
"It's not a weird project. It's sort of an ongoing project," Cora protested. She paused. "Wait. Do you really think it's some sort of weird thing?"
"I don't know what to think. You're, like, stuck somewhere no one's ever heard of, and clearly you're not doing the usual beginner quests." Heidi stopped, and the sound of rustling, clanks and thumps were heard. "Out! Out, you foul little beast!"
"Really? A foul beast, Heidi?" Cora laughed.
"She was stealing my last lip gloss. I just bought it!" Heidi returned with a harrumph. "I'd been wondering where the others had vanished to, and I just thought that either the maid or my mom needed some gloss and forgot to bring it back, but no! It turns out she's giving them away to her friends. Friends! Who can probably afford them and buy their own!"
Cora's eyebrows rose higher with each indignant word. Then there was a clatter and wounded howls could be heard.
"I'll have to call you back," Heidi came back to the phone, breathless.
"Are you okay?" Cora bit her lower lip as the weird noises continued.
"No, that little beast grabbed my login card. She's holding it hostage for two hundred dollars and my passcode to my Dumpling House loyalty program." Heidi growled.
Cora blinked at the grinding noise. Then she nodded, forgetting that Heidi couldn't see her through the phone.
"Why don't you go take care of that, and I'll go see which unit you might like," Cora ventured. She winced as another howl came through the phone. "But one quick question first. Why do you have a login card, and what's it for?"
"The card is for the room I'm keeping my capsule in. Do you really think I'd keep it somewhere the Terrible Two could get to? My mom would have a fit if they were able to play before vacation comes around." Heidi sounded a bit breathless.
"That makes sense, then. Your mom is one for schoolwork," Cora said.
"Plus, they're being grounded for stealing Auntie Lai's credit card and setting up an online store with my little cousins. Not too grounded because it's making a lot of money, but principles, you know!" Heidi's voice sounded disgruntled. "Let me go before they have a chance to wreak havoc. Send me pics of my new place!"
"You might not like it."
"At this point, I would love a box. As long as my capsule can plug in, I'm golden," Heidi returned.
Cora eyed her phone after Heidi hung up, whispering a prayer for her friend's little sister and brother. Heidi's mom was pretty strict with her children until the holidays rolled around, and then she didn't really care. It had always baffled Cora when she and Heidi were growing up, but as Heidi once put it: "as long as she can brag to her friends, our summers are free."
Cora stood up and brushed imaginary dust off her jeans. She sighed to herself. She'd never thought that not renting the rest of the building to other people was some sort of sign that she wasn't well. She made enough from her other properties and investments to not have to worry about a lack from her personal apartment building.
She picked up the book she'd pulled out when Nate kept insisting. Cora wasn't stupid enough to put Heidi and Nate on the same floor. He would turn into a roly-poly dumpling by virtue of Heidi's massive amounts of takeout leftovers. Heidi would gladly give them away since she was raised to not waste food but always ordered too much takeout.
She cracked the book open and studied the floor plans. Then she shook her head. It was clear to her now that maybe the lack of rentals here really had been some sort of cry for help to those who knew her.