The last time Dana had broken into a top secret Order facility, she developed severe heavy metal toxicity, took a bullet in the head, and went on a trip through time in an Elder god’s filthy mouth. She would have felt more apprehensive about this go around if she hadn’t found herself staring at a map of the facility as well as a couple of detailed pictures of the Oracle chamber that Zel had drawn up after letting Lily into her dreams to see it.

Dana was in Eulalie’s room again, the Arachne hanging from her web right in front of Dana.

“Tea?” Eulalie offered a mug to Dana.

“Thanks.” She took it more out of habit than anything else. When you didn’t need to eat or drink, you soon noticed just how much time people spent doing so while in each other’s company.

Eulalie’s rats stood around the table conferring with each other over the chamber drawings. They chittered in a mixture of sounds often punctuated with bits of English. Some time ago, the rats had realized it would be a good idea for more of them to pick up the language, but their mouths weren’t conducive to speaking human languages. Some, like Reggie, had no difficulty pronouncing words, and Dana suspected it had something to do with snout size.

Eulalie, to her credit, had picked up a bit of rat-speak. It was amusing to hear the Arachne chitter at her subjects, because there were times she would mispronounce something, and Dana could have sworn she could hear the rats laughing at her.

“So where’s Lily?” The Arachne sipped her chamomile tea and rubbed the egg in her lap affectionately. It was strapped to her belly with thick strands of sticky webbing that sometimes collected small items, like paperclips or pens.

“Stocking up on man juice.” Dana leaned back in her chair and sipped at the tea. To her, it had almost no taste at all. Since tea was just flavored water, she assumed her body processed it somehow.

“Ah. Straight from the source?”

“If you close your eyes, you can almost hear Mike gasping for air.” Dana smirked. “Yeah, she’s convinced shit is going sideways, and I agree. We’re about to essentially teleport directly into the deepest part of an Order base to talk with their resident psychic. Lily believes we’ll get maybe ninety seconds, if we’re lucky.”

“Then you’d best prepare your questions.” Eulalie turned toward her computer monitor and looked at the rats. The rodents all faced her and one chittered. “Sounds like they’re ready.”

“You’re not having them chew their way in from here, right?”

“Of course not. First I’m going to have them open a few portals that we can easily collapse. Kind of like bouncing a signal all around the planet so it can’t be traced.” Eulalie tapped some keys and a global map appeared with red circles on it. “Five different locations, all untraceable. Three of these are government facilities that have been abandoned in foreign countries, so that may give them false leads, assuming they even track you that far.”

“You’re sure they’re abandoned?”

Eulalie snorted, then leaned backward in her web so far that she actually turned upside down, her dangling hair sweeping along the floor.

“Girl, please.” When she winked, it was just with her human eye. The arachnid eyes all along her forehead eerily reflected Dana like security mirrors in a convenience store, scrutinizing her in whatever bands of light Eulalie could see. The Arachne twisted until she fell free, one hand wrapped protectively around her sister’s egg. “Let’s get you back to the nursery.”

Having nothing better to do, Dana followed her friend aimlessly into the room where Velvet’s egg spent a good chunk of its time. Arachne eggs were notoriously hardy, and capable of hatching in very short amounts of time if needed. However, the Arachne inside had a much better chance of success if given a proper incubation period. Time didn’t technically pass in the Library, so the egg stayed here only when neither Eulalie or Mike could safely watch it.

A pair of rats with hand-crafted aprons were waiting nearby. When Eulalie set the egg in its nest of blankets, the rats brushed some smudges that looked suspiciously like Cheeto dust off of the egg’s shell.

Eulalie stepped back and contemplated the egg, her features suddenly hard to read. 

“When your girlfriend died, how long was it before you would wake up in the morning and know that she was gone?” Eulalie’s fingers pulled at a piece of webbing she produced from a pocket on her skirt.

“Not until I died, honestly. And only because my brain is like a tiny computer now. If I actually slept, I imagine I would wake up and it would be like I had simply closed my eyes and jumped into the future by several hours.” She put a hand on Eulalie’s human thigh. She would have put it on her friend’s shoulder, but the Arachne was too tall. “It’s not something I ever got over, and I don’t think it ever goes away.”

“I know, but…all these feelings are just so…heavy. When I’m in the middle of something, I’ll forget that she’s not around anymore and I’ll call out for her to come check it out, or make a note to mention it later to her, and…” Eulalie put a hand over her mouth. “Oh, fuck, this is so the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?”

“Preaching to the choir is more appropriate.” She patted Eulalie’s leg, marveling at how thick the muscles felt beneath her skin. If Dana were to crack her friend open, she imagined she’d taste like crab with butter sauce. “We’re both entitled to our grief, just because my dead brain is all fucked up doesn’t mean you have to walk on eggshells around me.”

Eulalie snorted. “Was that intentional?”

“What?” Dana looked at the egg. “Oh, shit, no. I would rather die than tell puns about your egg baby.”

“I adore your dead girl humor.” Eulalie approached the egg and put her hand on its swirled gemstone surface. “Sometimes, I can feel her moving. Do you want to feel?”

“Not really.” She contemplated the egg. “Part of me is afraid I’ll hurt the egg. Zombie strength, you know? But I also worry that I’ll screw her up. I’ve heard how she zaps people, like Mike does, from inside her shell. What if my condition affects her?”

Eulalie picked up the egg and turned around. “Touch it.”

Dana considered the glossy surface of the egg, noting how the light diffracted off the colorful swirls adorning its surface.

“Wow, these are shiny.” Dana stared at the small cluster of colored dice that had been dumped on the wooden table in front of her. She picked up the d20 and held it up like a jeweler appraising a gemstone. “Are these made of gems?”

“Yeah, but they’re junk quality,” Velvet replied, going through a small collection of leather pouches, each one adorned with a different symbol. “Mom and Dad used to supplement their income by selling bits of gold and ore they might come across. For obvious reasons, she was really good at spotting stuff like that. These were made from some bigger pieces that couldn’t be cut down without cracking. The d10 has a crazy flaw through the middle that looks like a lightning bolt.”

“I see.” Dana set the die back down and considered the collection. “How did you guys make these?”

Eulalie picked up the d20 and gave it a test roll. “Uncle Foot did most of the work and got them to the right size. Dad cut the angles using his tools, and Mom carved the numbers. I like to use this set whenever I play a magic caster.”

“What are you playing now?” asked Dana.

“Druid.” Eulalie pulled a bag over and emptied it on the table. “These are carved from deer bones.”

“Are all of them hand-made, then?” She looked across the small collection of bags. The girls had invited her to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons with them and she had accepted. The occupants of the cabin had been a huge surprise for her, but she had quickly latched onto both of them. Eulalie was a big nerd, and had been eager to add someone else to the party.

“Yep. Not exactly like there’s a lot to do out here.” Velvet laughed. “Well, that’s not true anymore now that we have internet. The nineties, though, they were rough. It was still just books and the occasional movie, so arts and crafts was absolutely our thing.”

“Mom made a bunch of these bags.” Eulalie picked one up and gave it a gentle toss in the air. “I like that she still gets to be a part of our adventures, even though she’s gone.”

“I know that feeling.” Dana sighed and sat back in her chair, thinking of her dead girlfriend’s motorcycle. “You want to feel like you’re carrying a piece of someone forward, that they somehow still exist. Which they do. Know that for a fact, actually.”

“Oh?” Velvet perked up at Dana’s words. “Is it because of the whole zombie thing?”

“Partially. I live with a woman whose job it is to escort people to the afterlife. Unless she’s a supernatural con-artist, I’m inclined to believe there’s enough evidence.”

“She’s lying.” Eulalie’s tone was flat. “Technically, Dana doesn’t live with anyone cause she’s dead.”

“Don’t mind my sister.” Velvet picked up a bag of dice and threw it at Eulalie’s face. The Arachne reacted quickly, catching the drawstring on one finger and allowing the bag to spin. “She can be a real bitch, sometimes.”

“Cannot. Dogs only have four legs. And last time I counted…” Eulalie made a show of holding up her fingers.

“That just makes you a pair of bitches. Or a double bitch.” Dana said, then winked at Velvet, who burst into laughter. “Unlike other dead girls, I can still do math.”

Eulalie chuckled and set down the bag. “That’s good to hear, because you’re about to be doing a lot of it once you finish rolling up your character.”

“Dana?” Eulalie’s hand passed in front of Dana’s eyes. “Hey, are you in there?”

“Fuck.” Dana turned away from the egg and left the room, the memory of Velvet’s laughter chasing after her. It was like the recording had gotten stuck on repeat in her mind, and she pressed her forehead up against the wall of Eulalie’s room, tempted to smash her head until the thought dislodged. She had already started smacking her head when she smelled cinnamon and sulfur fill the room.

“Whoa, hey.” Lily had sauntered into the room wearing an all black leather outfit, complete with knives on the sleeves. She grabbed Dana by the shoulders and pulled her away from the wall. “If you’re trying out a new kink, you need to give the wall a safeword.”

“I’m fine. It’s fine.” Lily’s sudden arrival had dislodged the errant thought, allowing it to fade into the background. “What took you so long?”

“Went back for seconds.” Lily burped, then rubbed her belly. “Maybe I’m paranoid, but it seems like we may want some extra juice in the tank for you.”

“Isn’t this just supposed to be a quick trip?” Dana asked.

Lily stared at her in disbelief.

Dana sighed. “Okay, yeah, our lives aren’t ever that simple.”

“Glad you see things my way. Everyone is happier when they do.” Lily winked at Dana as Eulalie walked into the room. “Ah, there you are. Are we ready to go get our fortunes read?”

“Almost. Come this way.” Eulalie left through the main entrance, and they followed her. The Arachne crawled down the side of the pillar to the floor below and disappeared into a tunnel. Lily took Dana by the hand and flew her down to the opening, where the two of them discovered a door that could be barred from the outside. In the room, a portal had been opened along the far wall, which had a solid portcullis made of three-inch thick steel hanging just above it. If someone dropped the metal, it would cut anyone coming through in half.

“I hate to tell you this, but once they start coming through there, it won’t take them long to cut through that steel.” Lily stood on her tiptoes to knock on the metal. “One good fireball would do it.”

“It’s got shaped charges built into the other side.” Eulalie said this calmly, but Lily jerked her hand away from the door. “They’ll detonate the wall, which will close the portal. Anyone in here gets dosed with nerve gas, but you two will be fine.”

“Holy shit, that sounds so extreme.” Lily just shook her head.

“It was the minimum necessary for Sofia to agree to this. Otherwise, we’d be doing this from Oregon.” Eulalie crouched to step through the portal, and the others followed. They were in a concrete bunker with water dripping from the ceiling.

“Where are we now?” asked Dana.

“Better you don’t know.” Eulalie led them to the next portal. “Not because it’s a bad idea, I don’t want your minds getting read or whatever. Let’s just say you’re taking the shortest trip around the world ever.” She smiled and waved to a pair of rats with a remote detonator in their hands who were monitoring the breach, and now they were in a log cabin on the edge of a rocky shore.

“Is that an iceberg?” Lily was looking out a window.

“This is definitely not the place you want to get stuck.” Eulalie showed them a collapse mechanism for the cabin wall, then led them through the next few portals. They stopped at a brick wall that was glowing with its own inner light. A trio of rats were examining the edges of a chalk circle that had been drawn on the stone. Eulalie knocked on the wall and a ripple of light traveled outward. “They really have gotten better at stopping just before spatial breach. Ninety percent of what they do is instinct, but when we actually sat down and looked at the math—”

“Neeeeeeerd,” Lily fake yelled between her hands.

“Eat my butt, basic hell girl.”

“You’re not ready for what I can do to your butt,” Lily countered.

Eulalie, a self-described asexual, snorted in response. “So yeah, the Oracle is on the other side of this wall. Once you’re through, you need to get answers and then bolt. Like all the other rooms, this one is wired to go, which will close it on their side. We have to assume we only get one chance at this, because they’ll be on the lookout for another break-in like this one. Rat portals have been so rarely documented that it will take them time to figure out how we did it, but then they’ll be ready. At a minimum, they’re moving the Oracle somewhere new after today.”

“Then let’s do this.” Dana moved in front of the wall and stared straight ahead.

“I love an eager beaver.” Lily moved next to her. “I think I’m gonna ask him if my crush likes me first, and then find out which brother from Hanson is the best kisser.”

“You both left your cellphones at home, right?” Eulalie was speaking from the edge of the exit portal.

“Yes, Mom,” both Dana and Lily replied at the same time. The Arachne chuckled and left just as the rats began chewing away the final edges of reality.

The portal popped inward, then silently opened, the ragged edges of the portal glistening a multitude of colors. As they stepped through, Dana wondered what those edges would look like beneath a microscope. The way they sparkled, she wondered if she was seeing stars.

There wasn’t much time for thinking though as they were deposited into a dimly lit room filled with entirely too much fog. The air tasted metallic, giving Dana flashbacks to her heavy metal poisoning in the Pit.

“Come closer, both of you.” The voice sounded weird, as if two people were speaking but one was slightly off pitch. Lily shrugged at Dana and walked toward the voice. There wasn’t far to walk, as the two of them now stood on the edge of a curved glass wall. Down below, a speaker grill was leaking mystery fog all over the room.

“Hello?” Lily knocked on the glass. “We’re here to talk to a man about all my girlish dreams and I forgot to put money in the meter.”

“Patience, demon.” A dark shadow moved behind the glass, but Dana didn’t get a good look at it. “You two are my first real visitors in quite some time, and I would prefer to savor your company.”

“Are you the Oracle?” Dana asked.

“That is what some call me. It’s preferable to other names, but a little low on dramatic impact, wouldn’t you say?”

“Ugh. This asshole is stalling for time. We get it, you knew we were coming, now your buddies are on their way to give me a full cavity search. Well, let me tell you something.” Lily drew the knives from her outfit. “I’ve got some deep, fucking cavities and I’m a biter.”

“You’re even more of a joy in person, but no. There is no quick response, not today. You see, the technician who was supposed to fix the grill so it wouldn’t leak mist actually made a mistake while installing the seal. Right now, all the cameras can see is fog, and I’d prefer we take our time getting to know each other.” The sinister shape moved closer to the glass, blazing red eyes appearing where its head would be. “What do you say, ladies?”

The mist curled away from the Oracle, revealing a hunched figure with massive wings. At first, Dana thought she was looking at a mutant owl, but the long, feathered antennae atop his head told a different story. When he moved, it was almost like the shadows chased after him, and she couldn’t quite stare at any part of him long enough to remember it. He was amorphous, indefinable, and she couldn’t tell where his face ended and his body began. The Oracle chuckled and placed a hand against the glass. When Dana looked at his fingers, she couldn’t figure out exactly how many he had. Every time she counted them, the number changed.

“Oh, great,” Lily whispered. “Another fucking bug. Just my luck.”

Behind the glass, the Oracle chuckled again.

---

When the private jet touched down on American soil, Tasia snorted herself awake and gazed around the cabin with bleary eyes. She was one of six passengers, all traveling on Order business. A mage and knight pair sat towards the back of the plane, casting wary glances in her direction, while the other three were researchers headed for the West Coast center. Yawning, she stretched until her ribs popped, then cracked open the shade to look outside.

It was a private airstrip concealed on an invisible island east of Boca Raton. After landing, she was greeted by a thin knight who drove her to the docks where they took a boat to the mainland. The sun was rising by the time she was picked up. Then it was a two hour trip into the depths of the Everglades. Winding dirt roads dominated the experience, and the thick vegetation obscured her windows, giving her very little to look at.

She nodded off again, the steady hum of the car lulling her to sleep. It was easier to nap in moving vehicles these days. They were isolated from the scents and sounds of the outside world. Unless someone rolled down a window to let them in, it gave her senses a much needed respite and she used it to sleep. When the car came to a sudden halt, she was wide awake, her hand on the hilt of her blade.

“Shit.” The driver put the car in park and got out. They were on an unlabeled dirt road, surrounded on both sides by water-filled drainage ditches. In the middle of the road, a massive alligator had come to a halt. “We’re just outside the wards, too.”

“Can’t you just give it a little jolt?” Tasia was already out of the car, examining the errant reptile. It looked to be almost twelve feet long. “Move it along?”

The man chuckled. “We call this guy Old Moses. He’s been around these parts awhile, he’s kind of a pet research project. Most spells bounce off his hide, and nobody is quite sure why. It’s rare that he’s up here, but now that he’s seen us, he’ll wait until we bribe him with snacks.”

“So we can’t kill him?”

“It definitely won’t make you any friends.” The man frowned as Tasia approached Old Moses. “Oh, you shouldn’t do that. He’s definitely not friendly.”

Old Moses tilted his head toward Tasia, regarding her with beady eyes. He let out a hiss of warning, but Tasia had already vaulted over him, landing in a crouch with her feet just behind the gator’s front legs. Before Old Moses could react, she had wrapped her arms around his belly and lifted him off the ground.

The gator thrashed and twisted, but she wasn’t bothered by it. Her muscles bulged as she tossed the gator into a ditch with water that looked deep enough to soften his landing. There was a loud splash and a bunch of birds took to the sky in protest.

“There.” Tasia wiped her hands off on her pants. “I’m hungry. Do you have anything good to eat at the barracks?”

The man stared at her, mouth agape. As she walked past, she gave him a wink.

“The key is to stretch first.” She got back into the car. After a brief pause, her driver got in and they continued onward to their destination.

A couple of minutes later, she felt a tingle run across her body as they crossed through the wards around the edge of the facility. The wards served to alert the guard station to anyone crossing through them, but also kept most forms of wildlife away from where they were centered. Amida had once described the wards as a background hum that animals mostly ignored until they got close. He had described it as an inverse-square law, and she couldn’t help but smile at his memory.

Gods, how she missed him.

They pulled into a small compound. It was little more than a few buildings that could have easily been abandoned from the looks of them. The Order typically built their structures underground like ants. Ever since the advent of satellite imagery, it was far easier to use practical effects to hide their properties from prying eyes. There was an entire department whose single job was to delete any potential trace of activity in areas like this one from numerous government servers on the odd chance something got picked up. And if they couldn’t hide it themselves, they would bribe people to look the other way.

The more important locations were also shielded by magic. Technological advancements sometimes created new problems for the people in the spellcraft department to overcome, but some of the greatest magical minds on the planet were devoted to making sure that the human world never learned that magic still existed.

Tasia got out of the car and took a deep breath through her nose. She picked up the heavy, earthen smell of the foliage surrounding them, along with at least six species of bird and some small mammals. Other than her driver, the scent of humans had been wiped clean from the place, meaning that this branch at least had their shit together.

“Lead the way.” She put on her sunglasses and followed behind the driver as he led them into a building that looked like it was a strong breeze away from falling over. Inside, there was an older woman with gray hair pulled up into a bun waiting for them, bare arms crossed over a black tank top.

“I’ve got her from here.” The woman took a step forward and bowed to Tasia. She looked like she might be in her early sixties but had the musculature of an olympic athlete. “Tasia, a pleasure to meet you. I am Master Lynn.”

Tasia bowed back, waiting for the driver to leave. Once he was gone, she held out a hand, which Lynn shook.

“I’ve heard about you,” Tasia said, trying to hold back her glee. Lynn was a legend in the Order, more so than Master Cyrus had been. Not only was she one of the best knights who had ever lived, but the woman had been her father’s trainer back when he was young. “Are you in command here?”

“Yes and no. I came out a bit ago because of our recent problem, but you’re the main reason I’m here. I’m supposed to be your handler.” She opened a hidden door, revealing a staircase that disappeared into the earth below.

“Handler?” Tasia frowned. “I thought that…well, you know.”

“I do.” Lynn took a step back and gestured Tasia forward. “This is less about you and more about the others. They know that you’re different, but not necessarily how. While my role is technically to take you down should it be required, my real purpose is to ensure that nobody here gets the bright idea to antagonize you into a bad situation.”

“And you think that they would?” She entered the dark stairwell. Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of water being pumped from below.

“We’re a secret society made up of humans who love to gossip and start fights.” Lynn shut the door, casting them into darkness. “You tell me.”

Tasia nodded, knowing the woman could still see her.

“So I’m here to watch your back under the guise of keeping you under control. I’m more worried that the others may not accept you than…well, you know.” Lynn snapped her fingers and a light appeared in front of her. It moved forward, illuminating the stairwell. “I’ll also admit that I’m curious about you. It’s not often I get a chance to work with someone who has survived the process. The last time they tried it, the fatality rate was over ninety percent.”

“I thought nobody survived the first time.” Tasia put her hand on the railing, surprised at how warm it felt.

“No, a couple did. They just never made it into the field. Too much fight in them.” Lynn led the way down the stairs and through a long corridor. A blank wall at the end melted into a doorway when they approached. She taught Tasia a particular knock that would open the door, then led her inside.

The space was empty and looked a bit like an office. Open air cubicles had been set up, but nobody was at them.

“So what did you mean?” Tasia asked. She had held the question as long as she could. “About the original survivors.”

Lynn frowned. “They killed each other. I’m not entirely familiar with the process, but understood that you were forced to kill some of the other participants.”

Tasia nodded.

“Well, in the first trial, similar issues came up early on, but the Order intervened. Subjects that should have been weeded out for aggression in the beginning were able to keep a low profile until the end. Our surveillance of them was lacking, and we didn’t realize that the two survivors had some serious issues with one another. They got into a fight and killed each other over some petty squabble from before the program was formed. It took a long time before anyone was willing to try this experiment again, and a ton of work was done on making sure we had the right candidates. You’ve probably been made aware that every single thing you did was being recorded. At least twenty different researchers were analyzing footage and watching for any of you to display the warning signs of going feral.”

“That happened to a few of us,” Tasia admitted. “They made us deal with the problem.”

“As they should. If you couldn’t handle orders against your fellow subjects, then how would you ever handle orders in the field?” Lynn led her across the room to another door. “Give me a second, would you?”

Lynn stepped through the door and vanished. Tasia could hear the steady cadence of her footsteps, followed by a cry of surprise. She took a few steps back to make room as Lynn shoved a younger man through the door.

“This is your post,” she hissed, grabbing the man by the back of his neck and slamming him into a nearby desk. “Your absence here could be the death of us all.”

“I’m sorry, Master…” he didn’t get another word out, because she grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face into the metal so hard that it knocked him out.

Lynn shook her head, a sneer on her face. It disappeared when she looked at Tasia “When you got your briefing, did they mention the situation over here in the States?”

“Not really, though I did pick up on the fact that Deacon Osgrove is swinging through Florida.” Osgrove was an infamous Lousiana pastor who had started small and worked his way up to being the head of his own televangelical super church. The man was worth tens of millions of dollars, had his own private jet, and was making huge waves in Florida as part of an East Coast tour.

“Ah, yes. The preacher man.” Lynn rolled her eyes. “Will help you get into heaven for a fee. The only reason he’s in your report is because he has buses full of people who follow him from stop to stop. The timing is a little off, but whatever we’re hunting may be traveling with his entourage or groupies. They arrived in town just before the Cafe O’Dairy incident which you’re here to assist with.

“The situation I’m referring to that has everyone on edge is something else. Someone has been hitting Order bases. Tearing through the men and women like tissue paper. As of yet, we have no leads and no survivors. Beefing up security seems to help, because the attacks have gone down greatly in frequency since doing so. When they do occur, it tends to surround lapses in either security or judgment.” She gave the unconscious man’s leg a kick. “This asshole was here fifteen minutes ago when I went upstairs to wait for you. No idea what he was thinking, but he’ll be sorry when he wakes up.”

“Any ideas what they want?” Tasia asked.

Lynn narrowed her eyes. “The old guard. Men and women who have been with the Order for decades. Sometimes they vanish, other times we find what’s left of them, usually somewhere away from the attacks. Originally we thought it was demonic in origin, but we never came across any of the typical signs. Heard you went up against a succubus in your last mission.”

Tasia nodded, but said nothing.

“They get into your head. Eat your knowledge. Some people think that maybe we’re dealing with a very powerful one, or some variation.” Lynn tapped her temples. “I saw the report. If you’re worried I think you made a deal with her, you shouldn’t.”

Tasia relaxed. A tremendous amount of suspicion had been placed on her for surviving the encounter with Lily. She and Cyrus had been under a microscope for weeks. Some of the best psychics and exorcists in the Order had torn her psyche apart, looking for anything the demon may have left behind as a parting gift. They found nothing hidden other than childhood insecurities.

However, she couldn’t let it go completely. The last thing she wanted was to find out Lynn had lied to her. “How can you be so sure, though? Don’t you want to scry me, or whatever it is you do?”

Lynn laughed. “A succubus can be relied on for two things. Killing people and causing chaos. For whatever reason, leaving you alive had far more value to her than killing you off. If you want my opinion, I think it was just to fuck with us. A disgraced knight would be an easy enough target for a snack later on, and I often wondered if I would eventually hear that you had died in your sleep. Seeing that you haven’t, I suspect that fucking with us was her purpose.

“Now you wouldn’t know this, but for a while, we actually thought the entity killing off our people might be her. After all, she did infiltrate the Pit, and caused all sorts of hell while she was there. But whatever is killing our people…” Lynn shivered. “It’s like they went through a meat grinder. Succubi are many things, but they aren’t known for making messes like that.”

Tasia had a flashback to the after report of the Black Palace incident. The mercenaries that had been in the basement had been torn to shreds. Officially, there had been no answer, and Master Cyrus had been unable to give one. Was it possible that the witch traveling with the succubus had done it?

At the memory of the witch, Tasia’s ribs ached. A knight of the Order could manifest a shield capable of stopping a bullet in its tracks, or at the very least a bladed weapon. The witch had punched Tasia in the breast so hard that she had ruptured pectoral muscles and broken all of her ribs on that side. It wasn’t until after Tasia had undergone the experimental procedure that she was able to take a proper deep breath again.

The knight on the ground groaned and rose to his feet. He looked miserable, but said nothing as he crawled over to his post. There was no HR, or chain of command that would find fault with Lynn’s methods. In the Order, when people fucked up, others died.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, then reclined in his chair. “It feels like something is trying to eat its way out of my skull.”

“Good.” Lynn stepped past the man and looked over his shoulders. “If you aren’t watching these cameras, it’s because someone else is. Are we clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Why did you even leave in the first place?”

“Just had to pee real quick. I was only gone a few seconds.”

“Next time, piss yourself if you have to. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Despite his light beating, his tone remained respectful. He only gave Tasia a cursory glance as she was led past him and deeper into the building.

Most Order buildings were laid out the same. It helped newcomers acclimate, and made them easier to defend. This location didn’t have the research rooms other facilities did. A few holding cells had been built with the barracks occupying most of the structure. There were also a couple of rooms with private servers and computers inside. Tasia didn’t see many people wandering around, but the few she spotted stared right at her as she passed.

“I take it they know?” Tasia asked.

“It’s supposed to be a secret. Naturally, everybody knows.” Lynn led her to a meeting room in the back of the complex and stopped at the door. “Actually, that’s not entirely true. You are essentially a walking bomb, as far as some on the Council are concerned. A decision was made to pass the information to the people at this location for their safety. The men and women in this room are competent, capable, and have experience taking down people like you.”

Tasia nodded in agreement. “I shouldn’t become a problem, but that’s exactly what I would say if I was a problem.”

“We’re on the same page, then.” Lynn entered the room where three men and a woman sat waiting. “This is our team on the ground. Team, this is our VIP, Tasia.”

Tasia nodded at them, standing with her hands behind her back as if at parade rest. Though they acted as if nothing was going on, she could smell the recent release of magic in the room. Both knights were being actively shielded by their mages. “It is very nice to meet you all.” 

Lynn went around the room and introduced each of them individually. Luis was a knight who stood only five foot four but his muscles threatened to burst out of his black t-shirt. His mage was Sister Courtney, a woman with short dark hair and a bunch of piercings in both ears.

The other pair consisted of Brother Julian, a lanky figure who hid within his coat, and his knight, Esteban. The two looked like they might be related, which was always a possibility. It wasn’t unheard of for the Order to pick up siblings from the orphanage if they all showed some talent.

They were all older than Tasia by several years. This wasn’t a surprise, as she had still been in training up until the Black Palace incident.

Inhaling through her nose, she could taste the emotions in the room on the back of her tongue.  They were afraid. They had good poker faces, but hadn’t thought to conceal their odor using magic. She also caught the faint trace of gunpowder on Esteban. It was likely he had assembled some special rounds just for her and distributed them among the team, just in case.

“So let’s get this party started.” Tasia moved to the middle of the room, and pulled out a chair so that she could sit among everyone. “And before anyone asks, I’m just the muscle. You won’t get any of that alpha shit from me. You point the gun,” she looked pointedly at Esteban, “and I’ll be your bullet.”

Esteban actually smiled at her comment, then looked at Lynn. “Shall we begin?” he asked

“Please do. Once you have her caught up on current findings, we’ll go on a field trip. See if our new guest might pick up something we haven’t.” Lynn pulled out a chair of her own and sat next to Tasia. She produced an apple as if by magic, then handed it to Tasia. “Snack?”

“Thanks.” Tasia took the fruit and bit into it as the projector in the room kicked on.

---

The air took on a coppery taste as the fog swirled around Dana’s body and thickened. Despite being next to Lily, the succubus all but disappeared in the maelstrom of mist.

“I think I should warn you that I’m allergic to weird.” Lily coughed dramatically.

“It is but a precaution, I assure you. Technically, there is nothing to inhale.” The Oracle turned his attention to Dana. “Though that may be hard to convince you of. You can feel it, can’t you? It clings to your skin, and even passes into your lungs, pressing inward, ever seeking. But the spark that used to be has been snuffed out.”

Dana frowned. “Are you speaking about my condition?”

“It’s not as simple as everyone thinks, now is it? You used to be on the path to greatness, knocked clear by chance. Even now, there are things you seek that cannot be accomplished until the spark has been regained, that you may see beyond the veil.” Up close, Dana realized she couldn’t see any sort of mouth on the Oracle.  When she turned her attention to the speaker, she could have sworn it was curled up into a pair of lips.

“Sorry about my friend. She’s a little distracted.” Lily knocked on the glass, and the Oracle turned to face her. “So anyway, we’re looking for someone.”

“I’m aware.” The Oracle blinked one eye at a time, and Dana was no longer certain he had only two. For just a second, she had seen dozens, but when she tried to remember, the image consolidated slowly inside her head. “To avenge your friend.”

“Ah, great. Now we’re getting to the juicy parts. Okay, so do we have to answer a riddle, or maybe you just want some snacks?” Lily reached into a pocket and pulled out a moonpie.

“What the hell, you brought this guy snacks?” Dana watched as Lily pulled a small variety of other treats out of her pockets.

“Well, yeah. I figured money was no good, which meant threats of violence or contraband. It’s clear he’s in prison, so…” Lily pulled out a pack of cigarettes, twinkies, and a small bag of dum-dums. “Any of these float your boat, bugman? I’ve got some beef jerky in my prison wallet.”

The Oracle's eyes blazed with light, and suddenly Dana was looking into a mouth full of tiny orbs that looked like distant stars. Lily’s eyes rolled back in her head and she went silent, her mouth hanging open in wonder.

“What did you do to her?” Dana nudged her friend, but Lily didn’t respond.

“She is a distraction. You are the star of the show, didn’t you know? Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.” The Oracle extended long hairy fingers and splayed them against the glass. “Tell me more about how you came to be, Sparks.”

The use of her old nickname startled her. “How do you know that name?” she whispered.

“I’m the Oracle. I have seen much of what was, what is, and what is to come. I’m an observer, much like the scientists of your world, eager to see how things develop in this realm. Will you all rise above and escape the coming flood, or will you succumb to the hunger and perish?” He made a clicking sound that gave Dana the shivers. “It’s all so fascinating, really.”

“If you can see all this shit, then why don’t you tell me how I came to be?”  She moved closer to the glass, her nose almost touching it. “The mysterious moth act may work for the Order, but I’m—”

“Can you step back, please?” The Oracle waved his hands away from him. “About a foot? I’m listening to you through a microphone and your voice is all muffled now.”

“Oh, sorry.” Dana scooted her face away. “Anyway, if you’re the all-seeing Oracle, you should have seen what happened to me, so why ask?”

The Oracle groaned and moved away from the glass. “Do you know why people interview football players after the Superbowl? It’s not because we want to hear what happened, we all saw it. We want to know what was going on inside their heads, what sort of decisions they were making. These are things that you can’t see. They have to be expressed somehow.”

“You want to hear about how I was murdered and that I’m low-key pissed about it all the time?”

“I do.” The Oracle returned. He was carrying a folding chair. With a deft flick, he unfolded it and sat where Dana could see him, his wings now draping across his body like a cloak of shadows. “I want all of it, Sparks. I want to know what happens inside your head, to hear about your grief for your departed lover. Tell me all your secrets, and I will give you what you want, no questions asked.”

“You’re a bit much, aren’t you?”

“I’m locked several stories underground and they won’t let me have television anymore.” The Oracle made an L-shape with both hands and then rotated his palms so that it looked like he was holding a square. “Not that I still don’t watch it. You can’t stop the signal, Mal.”

“You just quoted Firefly, didn’t you?” She squinted at the Oracle. “Is it because you’re from space? Was that a hint?”

“Technically, I quoted Serenity. And no, I’m not. If I had come from space, it would mean that I came from somewhere, and that simply isn’t true.” The Oracle held his hands out, palms outstretched as if to beg for food. “Please, Dana. I have to know.”

Uncertain about what to do, she looked over at Lily. The succubus was still staring into space, her features oddly reminiscent of the time her brain had been scrambled by an Elder god.

“Oh, shit.” Dana looked at the Oracle.

“Look at you, filling in the gaps. Now, please. Feed me your misery, dead girl.”

Though she was hesitant, the words poured from her like water from a faucet. She told the Oracle everything she had gone through, starting with the moment she had woken up to discover that she was dead. It was like her brain was on autopilot as her mouth moved against her will, allowing the uncomfortable truths of her condition to spill free.

The Oracle said nothing as she spoke. His eyes blazed as if she were feeding logs to his inner fire, and she couldn’t help but worry that perhaps this was a huge mistake. But the words fell free of their own volition, and she eventually reached her battle with the nirumbi and Velvet’s death.

Pain, excruciating and terrible, ripped through her whole body as the emotions came. She had been trapped in another flashback more than once, only this time, she narrated the events to the Oracle. The creature sat and listened to all of it as an hour passed. Eulalie was surely worried by now, but it was likely the Arachne was monitoring them somehow. As long as the first portal was still open, Dana and Lily would be able to get home without any issues.

Finally, Dana spilled the last of her grief, and the shadows drank it away until the room was empty save for the static hiss of the broken intercom unit. The Oracle’s eyes blazed for several seconds, then dimmed to a more tolerable level of illumination.

“Now, see? That wasn’t so difficult, was it?” The Oracle crossed his legs and hummed a discordant tune to himself.

“Are you satisfied?” she asked.

“Very. You’ve given me plenty to think about. Do you know, in the annals of human history, there has never been a creature quite like you? Before you died, you were already special, a rarity among your race. Now, though, you’ve been murdered, come back, have survived a trip across time and space, and even looked into the void itself without even blinking. “

“Say what now?” That last one was news to her.

“I’m saying you’re a walking improbability, a unique being, one of a kind. Anyone can be one-in-a-million, you know. It really isn’t that special. In fact, dying and being reanimated isn’t that unique either. It gives you perspective.”

“If I was alive, it would give me ulcers.” Dana frowned. “So can you fix Lily and tell me where I can find the demon who made a deal with Leeds’ mother all those centuries ago?”

“Ah, now that’s a terrible question. In fact, I could tell you right now where he is, but it would do you no good. By the time you arrived, he wouldn’t be there any longer.” The Oracle chuckled. “No, no, no, I need you to start seeing things from the outside-in, to step outside of your perceived notion that time is a series of discrete events, to—”

“Fucking hell, where can I find this guy two days from now?” Dana huffed and crossed her arms. Two days would be plenty of time to track their prey, but not if the Oracle kept chatting her up. 

The Oracle pressed a strip of paper against the edge of the glass with an address written in a dark fluid that squirmed under Dana’s scrutiny. Even with her photographic memory, she had to read it several times before the information stuck.

“Not sure why you couldn’t just tell it to me.”

“For two reasons. I have been a guest of the Order for many decades, and I see what I do as an art form, worthy of my own personal interpretation. I love the drama, the interplay between mystery and revelation. I used to come up with cute little rhymes, just to irritate the men and women who sought my advice. It was never over information of true value, and their success or failure bore no meaningful contribution to the days ahead. Or sometimes they would focus so hard on the poem that they would miss the deeper meaning. They can tell when I’m lying, or at least they think they can.”

“So you’re an attention whore.” Dana jerked her thumb at Lily. “That’s the real reason you froze her, right? Spotlight wasn’t big enough for the both of you.”

The Oracle laughed, a grating sound that was painful to hear.

“Oh, I am so happy to have finally met you, Sparks. You are a breath of fresh air in an otherwise dull existence.”

“About that…” Dana examined the glass. “Are you really a prisoner here? Because if you are, we might be able to help. I’m sure you know this, but I have friends who would probably free you.”

The Oracle grinned, the skin around its lips stretching impossibly wide. Its mouth parts twitched, filling the silence with that hideous clicking sound.

“In fact, I don’t know. Your friends walk where even I cannot see. Besides, I am exactly where I want to be. Sure, it may be boring most of the time, but I’ve got front row seats to the big game, don’t you know?”

Dana had no idea what he was talking about. “You never told me the second reason.”

“The Order monitors this room via a live feed, except for the audio. I’ve been known to say some very disturbing things with relevance to who may be watching me, which means they keep the volume muted. However, they noticed the mist a bit ago and finally got curious enough to kick on the audio and realized that I have company.”

“Fuck me!” Dana grabbed Lily’s shoulder and the succubus snapped back to reality. Lily narrowed her eyes at the Oracle and a wreath of hell fire formed above her head, her horns ripping free of her forehead in a bloody display.

“You’re gonna wish you never woke up,” she growled, pressing her fingertips against the glass as the door to the Oracle’s room slammed open.

The Oracle blew Lily a kiss and vanished into his enclosure as spells exploded through the room. A blast tore into Dana’s back and a sheet of ice formed all along her neck and shoulders.

“Damn it,” she grumbled, stumbling forward and closing her eyes. She could smell them, two women and one man. Someone charged her, and she slid to the side, dodging a sword attack. She was tempted to pull her blade, but the thick mists hindered visibility. It was easy enough to drop to the floor and move toward the exit without fighting anyone.

But did she really want to flee? Even now, she could feel the excitement building in her body like a winding spring. Part of her wanted to tear into her enemies, hear their screams of fright as she showed them her might.

She was back in the forests of Oregon, leaping through the trees and feasting on the Nirumbi as they cried out in anger. Hunger became rage became strength as their feeble attacks did little but slow her down. When she bore down on a particularly burly Nirumbi, he showed her his teeth in defiance.

She showed him hers, biting into his face as she stuck a spear through his skull, ensuring that her curse couldn’t be passed on.

A fireball slammed into the glass, snapping her back to the present and creating a void in the mist. Dana saw Lily in the gap, wearing a fucking rubber duck head as she slammed a woman’s head into the glass so hard it cracked.

“Quack, motherfucker!” Lily growled and threw her assailant into another attacker. Smoke fired out of the duck’s bill as she head butted a man who charged her. More people were coming through the opening, and the succubus was soon overwhelmed. She was clearly playing it safe to avoid revealing her demonic nature, but the temperature in the room was rising and it was only a matter of time before Lily would be forced to start stabbing people with her tail.

“Thermals!” someone yelled, and Lily’s newest attacker blasted her across the room with a stream of electricity. The mage was wearing a helmet with a thermal scope over one eye, and went to  look in Dana’s direction. She expected to get juiced, but grinned when the man looked back at Lily. Somebody was relying too hard on technology

“One hostile!” he yelled right before Dana slammed her fist into the back of his head. The helmet cracked, and the mage fell to the floor, hopefully unconscious. Dana held the scope to her eye and saw through the mist that a couple of Order troops were cautiously moving toward the portal.

“Shit. Time to go, mother goose.” Dana dashed toward the portal and one of the men turned toward her, his eyes wide behind the scope. She smashed the scope into his eye, then grabbed him by the neck and smashed him into his partner. A sudden hunger assailed her, and she had the urge to sink her teeth into him. Growling, she continued through the opening, leaving a perfectly good meal behind.

Lily leapt through the portal, then turned to detonate the charges. Three knights jumped through the opening as the portal imploded, the pressure change causing Dana’s ears to pop. The knights drew their blades, a crimson aura forming around their bodies.

“We’re gonna rip you apart,” one of them snarled, then punched Lily in the beak of her duckface.  She let out a sound like a squeaky toy and fell backward.

“And then there was one,” the knight said with a grin. The three knights surrounded Dana, their swords held ready. “So what are you supposed to be?”

“If you’re expecting witty banter, you’re going to be disappointed.” Dana raised her fists, her heart pounding in her chest. Wait, her heart? No, it was the sound of distant drums, beating with an intense rhythm that spurred her to action. What the hell was wrong with her? 

“The only thing I’m giving out today is beat downs.” She wiped a bit of drool away from her lips, holding back that part of her that saw her foes as little more than snacks that hadn’t been opened yet.

“Pretty confident for a human.” One of the knights reached into her pocket. “So, what? You a witch? Berserker? Sell your soul to the devil?”

“Even worse.” A fourth knight appeared, a carbon copy of one of the male knights. “She’s Gen Z.”

The knight Lily had copied glanced up at his clone, a stunned look on both their faces. They both pointed at each other at the exact same time and shouted “Imposter!” as Dana dodged a sword thrust that would have disemboweled her from the female knight. The woman paused when Dana’s sword snapped open and countered her next attack, the metal ringing with impact.

“What the fuck?” The knight pulled something out of her pocket and was slammed into from behind by a flying mace that came out of the exit. The hovering weapon spun like a top and smashed into the other two knights, their auras flashing brightly as their protective magic was overwhelmed.

The battle was over, their attackers down. Lily knelt by each one and scowled, her features melting back to normal. The magical weapon hovered overhead as if waiting for any excuse to smash someone.

“Stop standing around!” Eulalie’s voice came through the portal. “Get your asses home!”

“Hold on.” Lily knelt down and examined the knight who had reached into her pocket. A wooden object tumbled free from her hand, and Lily’s face burst into flame. “Ow, shit, motherfucker!”

“What is it?” Dana moved close, her eyes burning just to look at the object. It was a wooden circle with a silver cross inlaid into it. Each arm of the cross had four branches, and there was a circle in the middle.

“Religious symbol of some kind, shit.” Lily moved to the other side of the room.

“I’ve seen you walk into a church before.” Dana picked up the circle and was surprised when pain flared up her arm in response. “What makes this thing so special? Wait…isn’t this thing from a state flag?”

“It’s called a Zia.” Eulalie leaned around the corner of their portal, wearing a pair of glasses. They had belonged to her mother and were magical, able to hide her spider eyes. “Fascinating history regarding its use. I’m surprised that it’s actually causing a reaction, a symbol is only as effective as the belief behind the one who uses it. I imagine this woman must be Native American.”

“That still doesn’t explain why this is so effective, but a building devoted to God isn’t.”

“I don’t know that we have the time to go into the flawed process of belief, or the difference between believing in an idea versus a person. Uncle Foot will happily break it down for you if you have a day or two for the lecture. Regardless, the object you’re holding is considered very special to the woman who owns it.” Eulalie clicked her tongue. “True belief is a rare commodity, these days, but that’s just my opinion.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Lily stared at Eulalie, her features twisted up. Dana took this moment to tuck the Zia into the pocket of the woman who had used it.

“You two were taking way too long.” Eulalie whistled and the magical weapon moved to her side. She rubbed the top of the weapon as if it were an obedient pet. “It’s okay, though. I always carry Mace when I go out.”

Lily groaned. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

“Months.” Eulalie grinned. Despite research to the contrary, the Arachne had named the magical weapon Mace and it had stuck. “So these are Order guys? They look tough.”

“Yep. And that bitch can stay here.” Lily left the woman with the symbol on the floor, but grabbed the ankles of the other two. “They won’t be out long, may as well split them up across the planet, right?”

“Don’t. All it will do is waste their time and ours, and we’re technically in the wrong here.” Eulalie knocked on the wall. “I’m closing it in five seconds, with or without you.”

“Ugh, fine.” Lily dropped her burden and walked through the portal, followed by Dana. Eulalie activated the collapse mechanism and the three of them made their way back to the Library through each of the portals. Once they were back in the Library, the rats closed the final portal so they could reuse the closing mechanism once more. It took almost half an hour, but none of them were worried about somebody showing up.

Once the portal was closed, Lily whipped around at Eulalie and snarled. “What the fuck do you think you were doing out there, risking yourself? You are the last of your kind, La-la! Your life is not worth risking!”

“I’m sorry, but the two of you were gone for over an hour. This was supposed to be the equivalent of a smash and grab!” Eulalie put her hand reassuringly on the magical weapon. She had rescued it from imprisonment on another world a few months ago, and it typically spent its days roaming around the forests of Oregon. The weapon was alive, in its own way, and heavily favored time with the Arachne. “So excuse me for fucking caring!”

“Both of you, chill.” Dana moved between the two of them. “Eulalie, I appreciate how worried you were about us. We’re the Away team. This is what we do, even if we suck at it sometimes. Thank you for the assist. We were in a bit of trouble and you spared us a lot of bloodshed.”

Eulalie’s lip twitched, but she said nothing. She took a moment to remove her mother’s glasses, her spider eyes reappearing.

“Lily, we—” Dana didn’t get to say anything else, because the succubus growled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. She had teleported back to Mike and clearly didn’t want to hear what Dana had to say.

“Did you at least get what you went there for?” Eulalie let out a sigh when Dana nodded. “So what happened in there?”

“The Oracle was not like anything I expected. But the guy we’re looking for? I know exactly where he’ll be in two days.” Dana recited the address from memory, pausing more than once to repeat herself. It was like the numbers and letters wouldn’t hold still, shifting around in her memory.

“Yes!” Eulalie literally dragged Dana up the outside wall of the pillar and back to her computer room to look it up. She hopped into her sling and began typing frantically. “So did you happen to get a name?”

“No. I was so focused on a location, I didn’t ask for a name. Everything went to shit after, so…” Dana watched the monitors light up as Google loaded, then Eulalie typed the address in. Once she saw it from somewhere other than the Oracle, the memory affixed itself in her mind.

“Shit!” Eulalie slammed her hand on the keyboard, sending a spray of broken keys across the desk. “This is bullshit!”

Dana stared at the information that had come up. The address wasn’t to a home, or even a simple business. It was an event center. In two days time, their quarry was going to be inside a building capable of holding thousands of people.

“Maybe it’ll be empty?” She knew it was a stupid hope, but Eulalie’s cheeks had turned bright red in frustration and she wanted to be the optimistic voice in the room.

“Hardly. Packed to capacity.” The Arachne was now using her phone. “Apparently some big shot mother fucker is giving a performance there, or something. Looks like tickets are sold out.”

“So we’re going to have to track a demon in a massive crowd of people.” Already, she dreaded being caught in the press of that many living bodies. The smells alone would likely overwhelm her. “Guess it could be worse.”

Eulalie grunted and leaned back in her hammock. “I suppose so. We need to figure out a way to identify a demon in a man suit on sight, then track the asshole somewhere we can safely gank him. I bet Ratu could help us with the first, and I can do the second. This is so fucked up.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Dana felt bad. “Are we at least going to see a good show?”

“Nah, some televangelist is reading excerpts from his new book. Guy named Deacon Osgrove. You ever heard of him?”

Dana shook her head. “No, but I guess I’d better find a way to get front row seats. I can’t imagine a demon would go to see the guy and willingly sit in the nosebleed section.”

Eulalie snorted. “Lily is going to be pissed, looks like the two of you are essentially going to a big church service.”

Dana sighed. Once the succubus cooled down, she’d tell her the bad news. For now, it looked like a trip to the Labyrinth to see Ratu was in order.