173
"You really are cold." Adela rubbed her hands together, producing a cluster of flames, and stoked the stove before her a little higher.
Edward ignored her, concentrating on the Rubik's Cube in his hands to pass the time. Amid the clicking of mechanical gears, he completed the third face, the red one. He neither answered her nor stopped what she was doing.
It was indeed cold today, and the rain outside was heavy. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the sky at three in the afternoon was already as gloomy as dusk. The heavy curtain of rain made it seem as though the Sun had been chased away by the Tyrant. The weather was awful, but it could not trap a Sequence 7 Beyonder of the Hunter Pathway. Besides, her home was only two streets from the Sauron residence. Even a tortoise could crawl back through the rain.
Adela craned her neck and watched for a while. Once she was certain she had no interest whatsoever in this new puzzle toy invented by Mr. Roselle Gustav, only in the person playing with it, she gave another affected sigh of regret, drawing her words out at great length. "You still-haven't grasped the essence-of humanity, especially in Intis-"
Edward's hands paused briefly. He knew this remark would catch his attention, and Adela knew it would, too, so she watched him expectantly, like the farmer in the fable waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit. But she always managed to catch her rabbit. The Abyss Angel did not dwell on this minor frustration, either. He turned to look at her, waiting for an explanation.
"Look, hypnotic rain, comfortable weather, a warm stove. Perfect for cuddling up to sleep." Adela sat backward on a chair covered in brown velvet. When Edward looked over, she