I woke to the sound of rhythmic tapping. I was slumped in a cold metal chair. I brought a hand to my face and started to massage my aching forehead with my fingers. Unrelenting pressure had built within my head. It felt like my skull was going to split open.

  I heard the tapping again. I cautiously opened my eyes and peered toward the sound. A full-body mirror loomed in front of me. My reflection was not my own but Isbrand’s. He sat in a chair and leaned toward the mirror, knocking on it with his fist. When our eyes met, he grinned.

  “We’ve got to get you a better alarm, buddo,” Isbrand teased, leaning back against his chair.

  “You could have just let me drift. It would have spared me this headache,” I complained.

  “Don’t blame me. It’s Dice that’s been trying to wake you up for the last hour,” Isbrand explained.

  “I suppose that does make sense. They can’t get us out of here alone,” I surmised.

  “There’s no rest for the wicked. Let’s go see the damage,” Isbrand said, standing from his chair.

  “Your Incarnum is done, I’ll guarantee that. We’ve got to rebuild from scratch,” I said.

  “Good. I’ve got some ideas for improvement anyway,” Isbrand said.

  “One step at a time. Let’s see what’s going on out there,” I instructed.

  Isbrand reached out toward the mirror, placing his hand flat against it. I stood from my chair and put my hand against the mirror over Isbrand’s. I felt warmth pulse through the mirror where our hands reflected one another. A tugging sensation pulled me toward the mirror and Isbrand. We were thrown together within the space of the mirror, and the world around me went dark.

  “I don’t care how many times you have to keep pinging him. I want Caldburn awake!” A familiar voice said.

  I activated Isbrand’s sensory dome. The room was buzzing with activity. Dice personnel busied themselves with our care. We had been placed in one of the private equipment workshops. Standing behind several technicians was a man I recognized as the source of the familiar voice. I felt immediately uneasy at his presence. Major Walter Kardos was my direct superior within Dice. He was an old soldier, carved and shaped by a life of conflict. Each prosthesis he wore was dark, bare metal. There was no space for aesthetics or frills in the Major. His most apparent and intimidating replacement was his lower jaw.

  “I’m awake, Major,” I said. My voice sounded muffled and distorted, coming from Isbrand’s damaged Incarnum.

  “Caldburn!” The Major exclaimed. “You want to explain to me just what the fuck happened out there tonight?!”

  “I’m not sure what’s left to explain, Major; I’m sure you’ve seen the footage,” I said.

  “You forced the city management protocols to eject an entire habitation unit without prior authorization!” The Major said. “What were you thinking?!”

  “The primary source of the Orgiastic infection had reconstituted and re-engaged me. I used my control of the building’s systems to attempt to drown it and to contain the residual threat of infection the building posed,” I explained.

  “There wouldn’t have been a need for that if you had simply followed protocol and initiated excoriation of the building when you discovered the Bacchanal!” The Major countered.

  “That would not have guaranteed the destruction of a fully formed Harlot Queen,” I said.

  “By whose estimation?!” The Major demanded.

  “My own?” I answered, somewhat confused.

  “So you admit this was about your own ego?” The Major asked.

  “Excuse me?” I said. A spark of anger grew in me.

  “You knew better than everyone else, obviously. Years of research and experience thrown aside because you wanted to flaunt yourself to the fucking stringers,” The Major accused. “You and that crazy bitch just can’t help yourselves!”

  The Major had never been fond of me. I accepted this long ago when I started working with Dice. It never seemed to matter how much I explained myself to this man. He had something against me that I couldn’t surmount. The best I could do now was just try to apologize.

  I felt the spark of anger within me flare violently.

  “Why don’t you explain something to me, Major?” I barked. I sensed Isbrand at my side. “How the fuck did a Bacchanal appear right under Dice’s nose?”

  “We might be able to answer that question if all our evidence hadn’t been dropped into the Gravesea!” The Major bellowed.

  “Bullshit! I want to know how those J-readings didn’t get picked up on Dice sensors! Where were the inspections? The patrols and scans? Where was all that fucking protocol and procedure when it mattered?! If the policy had actually been followed, my partner and I wouldn’t have been dropped blind into that hellhole! We were cleaning up your mess!” I shouted.

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  “We’re still investigating how this happened,” The Major admitted.

  “Then I would recommend that you stop trying to blame us for this debacle. This is still a win for Dice if you want it to be, Major,” I offered.

  “Your actions are still going to be scrutinized. I don’t care what your connections are!” The Major said.

  “My connections have nothing to do with this,” I stated.

  “You wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for House Caligo,” The Major declared.

  “And you would be dealing with the Bacchanal on your own,” I countered.

  “We’ve done it before; we can do it again,” The Major said.

  “Why don’t you tell that to Maria,” I said. It felt underhanded, invoking her name.

  The Major wanted to respond in kind; I could see it written on his face. He ran his hand across his head from front to back, burying his thoughts beneath the gesture.

  “Get uncoupled from that wreckage and get out. The case no longer requires your involvement. You’re dismissed, Caldburn,” The Major said. He left the room without another word, leaving the workshop’s technicians and other personnel in awkward silence. Some left. Others continued to work at their terminals. After some time, one of them addressed me.

  “Mr. Caldburn, we’re having some issues removing the core of your Incarnum. It doesn’t appear to be a physical problem,” said a man, peering up at Isbrand’s Incarnum from behind a gray screen.

  “There’s a secondary containment system. Let me disengage it,” I explained.

  Finally. Time to make good on our bet. Isbrand spoke within my mind.

  Do not make me regret this. I warned.

  If I could do that, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Open the cage. Isbrand urged.

  A prompt appeared in the corner of my vision. It asked a simple question. Would I like to unlock the door? I could only answer yes or no.

  A part of me was terrified. Under the current of that fear, another voice whispered of hunger.

  I answered yes, and the prompt disappeared.

  “Perfect, thank you, Mr. Caldburn. The core is being uncoupled from the remains of the Incarnum. We have spare Proxies you could use if you don’t want to wait for your own to arrive?” The man offered.

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ll call for my Proxy and wait,” I answered.

  “Of course, sir. Is there anything else you need before we depart?” The man asked.

  “What’s the status of my partner? Is she alright?” I asked.

  “Ms. Pritch was evaluated and discharged after successful repairs. That was several hours ago,” The man explained.

  “Good. Thank you. That’s all I need,” I said, relieved.

  “If anything arises, feel free to notify us via your network access. Goodbye for now, Mr. Caldburn,” The man said. He stood up from his terminal, along with the few remaining technicians, and left the workshop.

  I lay in the remains of the Incarnum in silence. I couldn’t feel any significant change in myself for having unlocked Isbrand’s cage. I felt exhausted. After the strain I had placed upon my psyche, it was a wonder I was even conscious. I sent instructions to my Proxy to proceed to the Dice headquarters. I was left to wait and contemplate the events of the night.

  Isbrand? Are you there? I wondered.

  As always. What were you expecting? Isbrand asked.

  Lots of things. None of it was good. I didn’t expect to feel so… Calm.

  Deeds done, what use is being anxious about it afterward?

  I suppose that makes sense.

  What do you want to do now?

  I don’t know where to begin. We need to get the core back to the garage safely, contact Maria, and make our report. There’s still that other task on the table she handed down before all this started. We also need a complete diagnostic once we get back to the garage.

  For fuck’s sake, Elias. I asked what you wanted, not what you needed to do.

  I don’t know, Isbrand. I want to get to Smaragdos.

  That’s long-term. I’m talking about something for the moment. We need it to keep us going.

  What do you suggest?

  Nothing motivates like a good time. We need to have some fun.

  I don’t think that’s a good idea, Isbrand.

  You’ve been thinking that for a long time now, and look where it’s gotten you.

  I contemplated Isbrand’s words in silence. As much as I wanted to fight him, I couldn’t find a response. I wasn’t ready to give in to him completely.

  Vila is off-limits. I warned Isbrand.

  Fine. As long as we’re setting boundaries, I have one. No more little deaths. Isbrand declared.

  I don’t know what you’re talking about.

  You don’t get to flick a switch on existence, Elias. You’re here, and you’re going to feel it from now on.

  That’s not fair. How am I supposed to rest? How am I supposed to sleep?

  I’m not here to be fair.

  You’re being unreasonable!

  Alright. We’ll reason. Every time you slip into another one of your temporary suicides, I’ll have free time to spend with Vila. That sounds fair to me.

  You hypocrite! What was all that tripe about always having a choice?! What kind of choice do I have now?

  I never said the choice would be easy. What’s more important, Elias? Your comfort or her?

  You know the answer to that, Isbrand.

  Then we’re in agreement. See? That wasn’t so hard. Choosing is simple. The struggle comes in seeing it through.

  So you’re just here to watch me suffer?

  I’m at your side for every step. Remember that.

  How could I forget? You’re a curse I can’t be rid of.

  We all have our burdens to bear, don’t we?

  Mine have become particularly vexing.

  I let the conversation lapse and attempted to retreat into my own thoughts. I was too tired to keep them coherent. Despite my protests, or perhaps because of them, I fell asleep for the first time in several months.

  Amersyn Canedo opened her eyes and looked around her apartment. Her gaze lingered on the window wall, where the multicolored neon haze from the Endless City poured in like a fog. She reached to her wrist and disconnected the cable running from the rig before standing up and walking to the window wall.

  “Any messages, Archie?” She asked aloud.

  “Yes, Mam. Only one of the messages requires your direct attention. Correspondence from a man named Ludo Buglass. He believes you’ll be interested in the footage he has from your excursion tonight,” a soft male voice said. It seemed to be coming from all around within the apartment.

  “Is it worth my time?” Amersyn asked.

  “At a cursory glance, I believe it is, Mam. Mr. Buglass has a good view of what happened after Livia’s Incarnum was damaged,” Archie explained.

  “Good. Display everything on Elias and Isbrand after Livia goes down,” Amersyn instructed.

  “Yes, Mam,” Archie answered. The window wall went dark before a video began to play. Amersyn stepped back from the window, sat in a nearby chair, and watched the footage. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The desperate fight within the chamber. How they protected her from the tidal swarm of the Orgiastic’s attack. The utter disregard for anything approaching sanity or self-preservation.

  “Elias, you fucking idiot…” Amersyn muttered.

  “Is everything alright, Mam?” Archie asked.

  “Not in the slightest. Get my Kestrel ready. I’m going to give that reckless prick a piece of my mind!” Amersyn announced, rising from her chair.

  “A message won’t suffice, Mam?” Archie asked cautiously.

  “No. We’re meeting in the flesh,” Amersyn answered. “He doesn’t get to ignore me anymore.”

  “As you wish, Mam,” Archie replied.

  Amersyn stormed off down the hall of her apartment to get ready.

  She felt like tearing Elias limb from limb.