![\"\"](\"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/maite-and-kepa-v3b.png\")
\u201cIt was certainly unexpected,\u201d she added. \u201cBut, I have to say that I feel almost infinitely better having some basic sense of how these zatiak and this magic work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m just confused,\u201d said Kepa as if he hadn\u2019t really heard her. \u201cIf all of this is connected to Amalur, why didn\u2019t Marina tell us? Why the secret? Are we, in the end, doing all of this for Amalur or are we doing it for Marina?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a good question,\u201d replied Maite as she stood. She stared out the window of their apartment. She could see Mount Urgell rising nearby, though the statue of Christ that adorned the top was hidden from her view. \u201cAnd what about de Lancre? I\u2019m starting to think there is more to him than just an overzealous inquisitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa nodded. \u201cNone of this makes sense. But I\u2019m not sure how we get answers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmalur isn\u2019t going to help us,\u201d scoffed Maite. \u201cAll she does is speak in riddles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She sighed as she plopped down next to Kepa again. She poked him in the shoulder. \u201cAt least I know what you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa smiled. \u201cAnd what is that exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a mischievous smile, Maite lifted the sheet that covered Kepa and peaked underneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was approaching late afternoon. Maite and Kepa were wandering the Parte Vieja, taking in the different sights and sounds. As was often the case, the old part of town was filled with tourists. Most looked out of place, either by how they dressed or their facial features. Once in a while Maite saw someone she suspected had Basque ancestry. She wondered if some of them might be related to those old sheepherders they had encountered in Bakersfield, the distant grandson or granddaughter of the men and women who she got to know in the boarding house. It seemed so long ago, and in some ways, it really was. More than a century in their lives. But, for her, it wasn\u2019t even a year ago. She winced as the memory of Kepa being shot flashed through her mind. She shook her head and pointed to a side alley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get a drink,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pub was quiet, lying just slightly off the beaten path that the pintxo guides herded the tourists along. Maite went up to the bar and ordered a kalitxiki for herself and a zurito for Kepa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d asked Kepa as Maite returned with their drinks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we involve Amalur as much as we can in this,\u201d replied Maite. \u201cYou know how to summon her now. We can always pull her in whenever we want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suspect she might start ignoring us if we do it too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerhaps, but she seems to have a vested interest in the zatiak. I think she will help as she can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t she simply collect the zatiak herself?\u201d mused Kepa. \u201cWhy have us chase through time to collect them? I\u2019d think she would be so much more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite shrugged. \u201cMaybe she can\u2019t for some reason? Maybe she can\u2019t enter the bubbles?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf she can\u2019t enter the bubbles, how can we summon her from inside one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh,\u201d replied Maite, realizing the contradiction in what she had just suggested. \u201cI guess I don\u2019t know. Maybe we can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is all so frustrating,\u201d said Kepa as he took a sip of his beer. \u201cIt\u2019s so complicated. It really doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the moment, all we can do is push forward, keep looking for zatiak when we get the chance, and hope that with time we begin to understand what is going on. We know much more now than we did before, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s true.\u201d He paused as he took another sip. \u201cShould we tell Marina that we know about Amalur?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maite shook her head. \u201cNot yet. I think we are better off keeping that to ourselves for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kepa nodded again as he finished his beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n