Solomon's Sieve by Victoria Danann

said that there would be another ambulance coming. The man who helped me, he lived in one of the houses on the beach, waited with me, but the ambulance never came. Finally, he got his car and drove it as close to where I was as he could. He took me to the hospital, took my phone and started calling contacts. When he called the Operations office, one of the trainees answered and got Glen. At least that’s what I heard.”
    “Gods Almighty. It’s a marvel you aren’t a suicide. It’s the cluster fuck that just keeps on giving.”
    “What?” Farnsworth’s eyes darted to Storm. He’d never used language like that in front of her before.
    Storm leaned to the side so he could pull his phone from his pocket and touched Monq’s name. “Code P. Someone has a story for you. We’ll be down in five minutes.” Storm ended the call and looked at Farnsworth. “Now listen to me.
    “It hurts my heart that you’ve been carrying the burden of somebody else’s mistake. I’m glad you told me, but I’m sorry you waited this long. You’re not responsible for what happened to Sol in any way. It was an accident.
    “You may not believe me, but I’m just a retired knight. We’re going to go downstairs and tell your story to somebody who can actually help you sort this out.”
    “Who?”
    “Monq.”
    “I don’t know, Storm.”
    “He can be a character. I admit it. But he’s good at what he does. Let him help you through this.
    “You survived. I’m very glad you did and Monq is going to set you on the path of healing so you can live the rest of your life the way Sol would have wanted you to.”
    Storm saw the shift that took place in her demeanor when he mentioned what Sol would have wanted. She took in a breath. “Okay.”
    “One last thing. Please. I’m begging you, for Sol’s sake and mine, too. Give me permission to get justice from the assholes who wrongly blamed and then abandoned you.”
    “Okay.”
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 4

    Overseer Dimension.
     
    “ He’s one of those.”
    Huber had rushed into the Council room to let them know they had a troublemaker whose status had been escalated to need-to-deal-with.
    Heralda looked up. “Whose child is he?”
    “Oh, you know, could be anybody’s.”
    “If he’s causing that much trouble, he couldn’t be anybody’s. He couldn’t be Theasophie’s, for example. Or Etana’s.”
    Huber pursed his lips intending to look thoughtful, but it ended up looking more like Baby Huey pouting.
    “Stop that,” Heralda said.
    “Stop what?”
    “That ugly thing with your lips.”
    Huber looked offended. “Humph.” He crossed his arms over his soft tummy and glared.
    “Huber, try and stay focused. What are his traits?”
    “He’s sure he knows everything and should be in charge. His spirit was sent to Summerland on Saturnia because the stories his grandmother had told him were the closest thing he had to religion and an idea of hereafter.
    “His behavior has been disruptive to the point of being disturbing. We even tried an immersion treatment in the River of Rebirth.”
    “Yeah?”
    “What happened?”
    “Nothing. He’s one-of-a-kind stubborn.”
    Heralda looked at Culain. “Thinks he knows everything and should be in charge?”
    “Got to be Ragnal’s,” said Culain without even looking up from what he was doing.
    “No doubt,” added Ming.
    Heralda turned to Huber. “So go get Ragnal and tell him to fix the problem.”
    Huber stomped his biker boot clad foot and his belly jiggled noticeably. “Don’t order me around like I’m an Elemental. I’m a peer!”
    “Of course you are. I would go myself, but I’m really in the middle of something. Would you mind? Please?” Heralda used her most persuasive tone. “I’ll look at your dragon babies later.”
    “You will? All right. I’ll go this time.”
    “Thank you.”
     
    Huber waited outside Ragnal’s harem, if not patiently. He paced, fumed, and muttered something about Viagra. He stopped in front