“Trees take years to grow back,” Austin said.
Karni cocked her head at him.
“Right. Years is nothin' ta y'all.”
“You'll get used to it,” I said. “You know, since you're part of that y'all now.”
Austin shook his head as if he couldn't fathom it.
“That's generous of you, Karni-Mata,” Thor said. “But we need to purchase this land in the name of a church. We can't have any ties to us or Jerry might suspect something.”
“Good point,” I said. “So we have to set up the church first.”
“I can take care of that,” Torrent said. “And I can change Karni Mata's deed to look like it belongs to the church too. I just need the property's address and the name you want for the church.”
“There you are.” Karni waved from Torr to Thor. “It's settled.”
“Thank you.” Az looked around the table. “Thank you all.”
“We're a team,” Torrent said, his lime-green eyes flashing with Internet magic (which emphasized his dilated pupils). “No thanks necessary. Just pass the cookies, please.”
Chapter Eight
“The Church of Eternal Light is officially registered and legal,” Torrent said a few minutes later. “And it's just purchased a property in Wyoming.”
“Great. Now we need to get out there and set up our defenses,” Thor said.
“We'll need to hire builders,” I said.
“Not necessarily,” Az said. “I can use the elements and you have nearly a hundred men at your disposal.”
“I don't think any of them are architects.”
“I can oversee things,” Torrent said. “We need construction workers, not architects, and those are much easier to train.”
“You know how to build a fortress that looks like a church?” I asked.
“No, but I have access to the knowledge of Earth, and I'm sure someone does. I'll just need a few hours to scan everything on construction and architecture, then I should be good.”
“You really are Neo.” Artemis smirked at him.
“No, I'm the Matrix,” Torrent shot back.
“The Matrix is the Internet,” Artie argued. “You rule the Matrix. Therefore, you're Neo, able to download knowledge in seconds.”
“Damn it, I'll have to get a new T-shirt.” Torrent grimaced. “'God of the Matrix' just doesn't have the same ring as 'I am the Matrix.'”
“You could get a shirt that says, “Original Neo,'” I suggested.
“Oh! I like that!”
“Wonderful,” Horus drawled. “Now that you've got your funny T-shirt worked out, maybe you could get started?”
“Sure thing!” Torrent's eyes started moving as if he were rapidly reading something in the air before him.
“Not even you can bring that guy down,” Pan slapped Horus's shoulder and laughed at his sour expression.
“Give me time,” Horus said.
