She started walking toward the general’s tent. She hoped Nabiyev realized what kind of situation he had by the tail, but you never knew what you might get with military. Like most people, sometimes they were the best thing ever, and sometimes they were so clueless you despaired for the human race.

Fortunately, Nabiyev was the former. Michelle knew he was feeling the strain of being in charge of a rapidly deteriorating situation. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, and the collar of his shirt was damp despite the unseasonably cool weather.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Nabiyev began. He was tall and thin with a sallow complexion and eyes. “Things are getting worse, and we’re still not certain what is happening. We can’t discern the nature of the fog. And as you can tell by the drone photos, it’s expanding. We’ve already moved back our forces once to avoid possible infection.

“We believe we have the source pinpointed.” He jabbed a finger into the map on the table in front of him. It landed roughly in the center of the fog, and the ID marker read: NAZABBAYES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.

Klaus looked at the map and back at Nabiyev. “Have you sent in any forces?” he asked.

“Of course we have,” the general replied acerbically. “Do you really think I would allow this thing to escalate without taking some kind of action?” His eyes narrowed. “I realize you have your little band of aces here, but we have men brave enough to go in there without any powers. And we have an ace of our own!” He pointed across the room to a short, dark-haired, brown-eyed woman. Her nose was broad and flat. Michelle noticed that her freckled fawn-colored skin had a subtle golden glow to it.

“This is Inkar,” he said with no small amount of pride. “She is our first ace. Show them your power!”

Inkar looked appalled and uncomfortable. “With all respect, sir. There is hardly enough room in here for all of us, much less me in my Tulpar form.”

The general frowned, then nodded. “You must show them after we’re done here.” Inkar nodded, but Michelle could tell she wasn’t happy being asked to put on a show.

“Yes, you have an ace,” Klaus began. “But we can still help you…”

“Klaus wasn’t judging your men, or your approach,” Michelle interjected. Sometimes Klaus could be a little too direct. Barbara was a past master at smoothing those times out, and Michelle wished she were here. “We just need to know where everything stands at the moment. From the outside, things are very confusing.”

That seemed to mollify Nabiyev, and when Michelle glanced over at Klaus, he didn’t seem annoyed with the interruption. The last thing they needed was getting into a tangle with the military—or each other.