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Back The Art of Exile
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Map
  4. Dedication
  5. GENESIS INSTITUTE GUILDS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  50. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  51. IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS

“If you say so,” I concede. He, and everyone else, will see for themselves soon enough.

He breaks our eye contact and shakes his head as he looks back at his notebook. “You’re going to have to practice being less hard on yourself if you want to encourage your own growth. I’ll make sure to add additional art studios to your schedule so you can prepare some pieces for your gallerie. As we get closer to Quorum, we can meet again to reassess.”

He then offers me the use of his phone to call home. While Arcadia is mostly isolated and sadly far from any cell towers, Michael’s office is equipped with a phone line that he needs for his job as Genesis’s official liaison to provincial society. Before I agreed to come, I was told I could use it to stay in touch with my family.

One of the first directives I have from the Families is to find an alternative mode of communication with Kor, who is to act as my handler. I can’t rely on this phone or any mail I send to be secure, but if I can’t find a better way to pass information to Kor, I’ll wait to give it to him in person when I travel home for the holidays, or in the worst-case scenario, use the satellite phone.

Michael leaves me alone in his office so I can have privacy for my call. I feel sick at the thought of violating his personal space, but I push through it, knowing what I need to do.

I start by actually using the phone to call my mom to let her know that I arrived safely. She doesn’t answer, but I leave a message.

Then I hang up and assess the room. Where should I start?

Kor’s top three directives to identify are:

  1. 1) A secure mode of communication
  2. 2) The location of the institute and how to access it
  3. 3) A method of giving non-Sires Sire abilities

And I’ve added my own last one.

  1. 4) A cure for Grandfather

The bookshelves seem like a good place to begin, but there are way too many books to look through. I pull out my phone—that I’d excavated from its hiding place for this purpose—and use it to take photos of the shelves. I can use the pictures later to see if there’s anything worth a closer look.

I hasten over to Michael’s desk. The large book he was reading is written in Hebrew. I snap a picture, because why not? I rifle through his drawers, but everything seems standard and boring besides a stash of emergency chocolate. Nice.