I awoke to the sensation of movement. I jostled against the firm cushioning of a comfortable seat. I felt delirious and groggy. I had no recollection of where I was. I tried opening my eyes and found I had none. I tried to speak and realized I had no way to vocalize.

  Isbrand? What’s going on? I thought, suddenly panicked.

  Look who finally woke up. You have a nice nap? Isbrand asked.

  Answer me, Isbrand! What have you done?!

  Relax. We’re in our Proxy and heading to the garage. I thought I’d let you sleep.

  Wake me up next time. I don’t like being ferried through the dark.

  I accessed the sensory connections of the Proxy with thought and integrated my consciousness with the body. Isbrand must have left me dormant to prevent the Shifts. As the world came into clarity I realized we were riding in another cab. Shifting neon and sparkling glass blurred past as we weaved through the airways of the Endless City.

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked aloud.

  About an hour, we’re nearly to the garage. Isbrand answered mentally.

  “Good. Your core is secure?” I questioned.

  Tucked away in the Proxy. Stop worrying. I took care of us.

  “That isn’t an option with you,” I said.

  Of course, it is. You’re just too high-strung.

  The cab dropped down through several layers of the city before slowing to a stop outside the garage. I left the vehicle on standby and proceeded inside. The building came alive as the lights turned on and the systems became active. I connected the Proxy to a port near the wall and incarnated inside the workshop. Isbrand stood at my side, looking pleased with himself.

  “Take a seat. We’ve got to run a full diagnostic,” I instructed. I crossed the room and sat down in front of the holographic display of my psyche.

  Isbrand walked up behind me, looming over my shoulder and peering at the display. I had to fight the urge to recoil.

  “Do you mind?” I asked.

  “Take your time, I’m just watching,” Isbrand said. His ignorance felt feigned.

  I tried to ignore him and return to my task. I placed a hand on the display, rotating the array of nodes until I found the appropriate piece to sever. I needed a bit of meticulous caution along with efficient pragmatism. A blend of ersatz One and Four would suffice.

  “We’re going to be here for hours waiting on those two,” Isbrand said, leaning down to my ear.

  “What are you talking about? They’ll work quickly.” I countered.

  “Put Three between them, he’ll smooth over the friction between One and Four,” Isbrand instructed.

  “Do you want to do this instead?!” I snapped, growing annoyed.

  “I’d rather be doing anything else, which is why I’m trying to save us both some time,” Isbrand said.

  “I appreciate your input. If you really want to help why don’t you go extract your core? We’ll have to make a new casing to fit into the next Incarnum,” I said.

  “Fine, I’ll leave you to it,” Isbrand said, drawing away from me. “Don’t forget to add Three.”

  “Yes, thank you, Isbrand,” I said dismissively. I wondered inwardly about the prospect of blending the three ersatz together. I would never admit it to Isbrand, but it was a sound notion. I made the required adjustments and grouped each of the nodes I needed together. I wrapped my hand around them and squeezed the nodes together like pieces of clay. A swift tug was all it took to decouple the ersatz from my psyche. I felt a brief chill down my spine and a muted sense of being severed from myself. Then came a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see a copy of myself standing beside me.

  “I’ll take over from here, boss,” the ersatz said.

  “Thank you, Eight. If you don’t mind, I’d like to have this done quickly,” I said.

  “Happy to help. I’ll let you know when I’m finished,” Eight said.

  I stood up from my seat in front of the display and let Eight get to work. My report to Maria was next on the agenda. Just the thought of her made anxious discomfort well in my chest. I needed privacy for this. The garage contained a connected network of Incarnated spaces. One of those spaces was set aside for resting while larger projects were put through automated construction processes. I would seek refuge there while I contacted Maria. The jaunt to the new space happened in the blink of an eye.

  The lounge was laid out in an expansive circle. The seating surrounded a central, lowered pit in multiple tiers. The walls were bare, grey stone with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped around the entire room. Soft green light poured into the room through the glass. A warm, golden glow emanated from the floor around the plushly cushioned benches. I sat down along the higher outer ring of the room. I never felt comfortable down near the center.

  “Vila?” I called aloud.

  A brief moment passed before she arrived. The air shimmered and shifted in front of me before Vila stepped out from behind nothing and took a seat beside me. She reached up and removed the gray hood of her dress. The impenetrable dark haze that obscured her face dissipated. Vila’s eyes emerged first: two almond-shaped pools of jade flecked with amber. Her hair was umbral turquoise, swept in an elegant updo. Alabaster skin, rose-kissed cheeks, coral lips parted and teasing a secret smile. She was almost close enough to touch me. That lack of distance was an open flame. I was dry kindling.

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  “I’m here, Elias” She spoke softly. “What can I help with?”

  “I need to have a report sent to Maria about the Trevelli building mission,” I said. It was a mistake to be speaking with Vila like this. How could I have been so careless?

  “What should we include in the report?” Vila asked. She was so calm. So relaxed. So unaware.

  “Just the essential details. Leave out the things she shouldn’t know.” I answered. I needed to be brief. This torture had to end quickly.

  “Of course,” Vila said. I noticed her hesitate before she spoke again. “Elias? There’s something I need to tell you.”

  “What is it?” I asked. The sudden turn in the conversation came as a merciful reprieve. It was more likely an alluring bait.

  “Well… Ms. Caligo tasked me with hiring a lifeline for you and Ms. Pritch. I contracted Vasco Hayward to watch over you during the mission.”

  I had suspected as much. It was completely within Maria’s character. It did little to hide Vila’s naked, vulnerable concern. “I’m sorry, Vila; I don’t mean for you to get drawn into this mess.”

  “All things considered, it’s good I was involved. You ended up needing that lifeline,” Vila said. She sank those words into me like hooks. I had expected pain. Instead, a rush.

  “You’re right. Thank you, Vila,” I said. “I just shudder to think how I’m going to thank Maria…”

  “It might not be so bad. You did succeed, after all. That always makes her happy,” Vila offered.

  “True. I have to hope that’s enough good grace to my name,” I said. No amount of grace could save me now. I needed a miracle.

  “I’m sure it will be. Are you ready to send the report?” Vila asked.

  I stared at her instead of answering. My gaze traced along the shadows cast across her skin. I followed the soft curve of her nose up into the inky smudges of her eyebrows. I felt like I was spiraling toward those limpid pools of stained glass green and speckled gold. Watching her felt illicit.

  Vila caught my pining look. The pale whispers of her smile curved shyly at the corners of her mouth.

  “You shouldn’t stare at me like that, Elias,” Vila chided. Her words felt hollowed of meaning and filled with unintended temptation.

  “I… I love the way you say my name,” I admitted. I realized my hand had drifted toward Vila’s face. My finger softly traced down the line of her jaw. I was a hair’s breadth away from igniting. I had to stop this before it was too late!

  I wrenched my hand back like I had been burned. I shifted away from Vila, turning to stare at nothing. I covered my mouth with the hand that had touched her. I could smell her there in bare traces. Warm cognac, a faint burn. Old leather polished in beeswax. Crushed rose petals floating in a dusky red wine. Sweet raspberry jam. Subtle spiced musk. It was intoxicating.

  I felt Vila’s warm fingers touch my forearm. “Oh, Elias… it’s alright.”

  I sunk my teeth into my finger. I deserved to feel that pain. Her touch was soft velvet on an exposed nerve.

  She pulled her hand away, hesitating, before leaning her body close. I found my eyes open and searching for hers. I saw her cheeks flushed pink. Then I fell into her eyes. They were wide and glistening. She averted her gaze from mine as our eyes met.

  Vila cautiously looked at me again before speaking. “You don’t have to stop.” Her voice quivered.

  Isbrand’s voice shattered the moment. “Whoa… I’m not interrupting something, am I?”

  I recoiled from Vila in a jerking, reflexive motion. I looked at Isbrand with a mixture of shame, anger, and embarrassment. Isbrand sat on the central bench in the room, right in the middle of the pit. He grinned at me knowingly. Vila drew back slowly and folded her hands in her lap.

  “We were just going to prepare a report for Maria…” Vila explained, voice still soft and hitched.

  “Looks like a great time to me,” Isbrand teased.

  “What do you want?” I asked, interjecting. Something dark stirred beneath the waters of my mind.

  “Not to break up your little dalliance here, but we have an issue,” Isbrand said.

  “What’s going on?” I pressed. This needless vagueness was irritating.

  “Eight needs you out in the workshop. It’s something about the diagnostic,” Isbrand answered.

  “Thank you. I’ll go and see about it in a moment. You can leave,” I said. The darkness beneath threatened and bristled.

  “Elias. He needs you out there now,” Isbrand insisted. The look he gave me was pointed and disarming.

  “Alright. If it’s that important,” I muttered. I turned to Vila, careful not to look at her directly. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  “I’ll be right here,” She assured me.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on the workshop. The transition was seamless. When I opened my eyes, I found Eight sitting quietly in front of my mental diagram. I crossed the room and stood beside him at the table.

  “I was informed you needed me?” I asked, looking down at Eight.

  “Yes. So, I need your opinion here. What does this look like?” Eight asked. He reached out to the diagram and circled an area with his finger. I examined the nodes and connections he indicated. There were some overlapping striations that caused a mirroring effect of the display, but little else.

  “I’m… Not sure. There’s ghosting along these synaptic pathways, but that’s probably just some stubborn neural persistence,” I reasoned.

  “That’s what I thought, but look here. Watch what happens when we filter for high temporal recency,” Eight said, manipulating the diagram with several quick gestures.

  The display shifted in front of my eyes. The simple mirroring of the pathways melted away to reveal the full picture. These were not slight deviations from the path, deep wounds had been gouged across my psyche. It was like looking into a shallow pool of water only to discover it was deep enough to drown in.

  “No. No, that can’t be right. Is there something wrong with the connection to my body?” I pleaded for an answer.

  “I’ve checked it several times, boss; we’re still tethered solidly,” Eight explained.

  “Alright, then this has to be damage from how far I pushed my perception earlier, right?” I said.

  “But boss, the pathways are all wrong. These gouges are driving toward odd places. The septal region, the amygdala, and even the frontal lobe. That’s just what I’ve found so far,” Eight said.

  “Stop the diagnostic. Refocus all resources. Show me what’s at the end of these new pathways. Now!” I demanded.

  Eight nodded and turned his attention to the diagram. He weaved his hands through the image in a complex and mesmerizing display. One of the pathways was outlined and plotted in two directions at once. One line snaked through the image toward the origin while the other raced to the terminus. I was only concerned with the latter.

  “Boss, you need to calm down. If this damage is related to stress, you could be exasperating things as we speak,” Eight said gravely.

  “What a comforting thought, Eight, thank you,” I spat sarcastically.

  “Oh… Right. Sorry, boss,” Eight apologized, sounding hurt.

  I wiped my hand down my face from my forehead to my chin and sighed. “It’s alright, Eight. I know you’re just trying to help.”

  “It shouldn’t take much longer to get a clear image. Just hold tight,” Eight assured me.

  The diagram continued to plot the winding, twisted pathway through my psyche. The image suddenly stopped. It drew close to a single point and took several seconds to come into focus. As I examined the image, fear gripped my heart like a cold vice.

  “Boss, is that thing moving?” Eight asked.

  “Yes. It’s building a new path,” I muttered. “Eight. Scan for a J-reading. Tune for the lowest range possible.”

  Eight stared at me for an unbroken moment, understanding dawning along with fear. He made another series of short gestures around the image. A brief pulse of light drifted across the diagram. A small readout displayed a number next to the creature that was slithering through my consciousness.

  It gave off a minuscule but measurable emotional signature. It was joyful.

  “It’s an Orgiastic,” I whispered.

  “You’re infected. We’re infected…” Eight spoke in growing horror.

  His words shot through me like a bolt of lightning. A thought seared into my mind.

  “Isbrand is infected,” I muttered.

  “You’re right, boss. Where is he?” Eight asked.

  I was nearly too afraid to answer. I felt like the words would seal some terrible fate if spoken.

  “I left him with Vila!”