Chapter 42

Julian sat on a weathered wooden bench near the restaurant, his eyes tracking a praying mantis that had perched itself on the edge of a stone planter. The insect was a silent, emerald-green statue, its serrated forelegs folded in a mockery of prayer. Julian ignored the passing carriages and the chatter of Veridia's lunch crowd, focusing his Psionic Sight on the small, alien mind of the mantis. He reached out, not with a spell, but with a refined mental nudge. He practiced the shaping drills...