So. It wasn’t a dream. After reading the text, I still wasn’t sure what to make of her. From my brief initial impression, Nychta wasn’t the worst passive spectator to have. But the nature of her attention was problematic. I had no doubt she would have happily sold me out if I’d disappointed her, and that wasn’t likely to change just because she’d given me a boon. To her, I was a novelty. And novelty is only useful while it lasts.

I added it to my burgeoning list of problems to solve at a later date.

A wave of fog had begun to roll in with the humid evening air. I clung tightly to the motorcycle. My apartment loomed in the background, like some morose reminder of what I’d lose if none of this was enough.

“Incoming lux!” The voice came from an improvised lookout that was little more than a board on stilts. There was a roar of murmuring voices—too many, the sound more fitting to a stadium than my generally quiet block.

Through the fog, I saw the number of people crowding around the receptacle had grown exponentially. There were at least a thousand of them crowded around, their faces grim, too cautious to hope. Still, they parted quickly. A few hands pushed me forward. Grayscale had resumed his post, and fell in step next to me, escorting me towards the glass cylinder glowing gold.

“You look dead on your feet,” Astrid emerged from the crowd

“I’m fine,” I said quietly.

When she grabbed my arm, I tried to yank it away, my mind all reaction and fear, and found I didn’t have the strength.

“Just, let me,” Astrid said.

I relented. Astrid slid my arm over her shoulder and let me use her for support. When the receptacle came into view, an irrational anger came over me. “It hasn’t gone up at all?”

Grayscale shook his head. “We got a few more. But it barely moved. And after each drop, we had a wave of monsters. It’s like they don’t want us to finish.”

Maybe they don’t.

In theory, I was safe in the middle of the crowd. If anyone laid a hand on the bag of lux, we were in dire enough straits that the observers wouldn’t hesitate. Anyone trying to interfere now would be swarmed in seconds.

So, why didn’t I feel safe?

I spotted my mother in the crowd, holding Iris in a half hug. Ellison was standing a few feet away from them, looking aloof.

“Anyone particularly short make a drop?” I asked.

“Like temperamentally?” Grayscale asked.

“Height.”

“Haven’t seen anyone particularly short. Been here ever since the strike team got back.”

“It’s slim pickings out there.” Astrid added darkly. “Roderick’s helped with fending off the attacks, but otherwise, the lodge has been useless.”

“Little harsh, seeing as most of them are either injured or recovering from being drugged out of their mind.” Grayscale shot a look at her.

Their words barely registered as anger washed through me. I’d never imagined hurting my brother before, but now, it took everything I had not to drop the bag of lux and slap the smug expression off his face. The thought was irrational. All the evidence pointed to the User at the church being someone else, and that my brother had just been an overwhelmed kid, coping with the end of the world. I’d overlooked a lot of bullshit from Ellison. He was a kid in a bad situation, and acting out was par for the course. But if he had been that User, and chose to do something else with the haul of lux he pulled out of the church, putting our family in danger?

I wasn’t sure that was something I could forgive.

“Astria okay?” I asked quietly.

Astrid looked at me in surprise. “Uh, yeah. She’s doing a lot better.”

“Good.”

A message came in, directed to Matt rather than Myrddin. I noticed I’d missed several, all repeating the same content.

That explained why they’d shown up in force for ten lux. They weren’t going to make it. I closed my eyes for a moment as I gathered my thoughts.

Miles was waiting next to the receptacle with a neutral expression. If I hadn’t spent time with him, I might have missed the worry in his eyes. “Hey kid.”

“Miles.” I placed the bag of lux on the grass in front of the receptacle, and met his gaze in challenge. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

Miles glanced at the bloodstained bag, then looked away. It wasn’t just worry. It was guilt.

He knows. And he thinks it's his fault. That killing the necromancer sent me off the deep end.

Unable to handle the tension any longer, I opened the mouth of the bag and pulled out a lux, placing it in the receptacle. The line didn’t move. “Come on,” I muttered under my breath, and deposited another.

All at once, the line jumped up, filling to the metal rim. I stared in shock, not fully understanding what had happened. All at once, everyone around me looked down, reading the same scroll of text that went out to everyone simultaneously.

A round of cheers went up, growing louder until it was almost deafening. Several people slapped me on the back. Others grabbed my hand and shook it. Some part of me couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that it was really over, that I’d managed it somehow. Maybe this wasn’t real. Perhaps I was still unconscious in the back of the van, my mind racing desperately to find closure in the precious few seconds I had after Mantle finally slit my throat.

Someone tugged at my jacket. I looked down and saw Iris staring up at me. She didn’t say anything vocally—there were too many people around for that, but she placed a flat hand to her chin and extended it outward. Even if I didn’t understand ASL, the meaning would have carried through.

”Thank you,”

I reached out and patted her head, then frowned. My gauntlet left a streak of blood down her hair. Another notification came through.

A bolt of nausea went through me. I didn’t know for certain what the system’s “secondary means” were, but I could guess, based on what I’d learned in region six. Cores could fill the receptacle.

Damn it all.

“Myrddin!” Someone shouted, their voice projected over the excitement. The crowd parted, giving ample space as Kinsley stalked through. “What the fuck did you do?”

Roderick followed in her wake. In the far left of my periphery, I saw Miles stir, positioning himself to cut me off if I ran.

More than anything, I was surprised by the real anger I felt from Kinsley. Compared to the stuttering, unconvincing mess she’d been when I introduced her at the family meeting, the difference was night and day.

Did she take a feat? Something to make her more charismatic? Boosted companionship, maybe?

Any worry that Kinsley would be able to sell this properly disappeared. I squared off with her, hand at my side. “I finished it. While we’re pointing fingers, what exactly were you doing all this time? Hopscotch?”

A disapproving murmur went through the crowd. I’d underestimated how much goodwill Kinsley had accumulated over the last twelve hours. They didn’t like the way I was talking to her, despite the fact that I’d been the one to complete the receptacle. That was good. It would work to our advantage in the long term. Which was precisely why she needed to be blameless.

“Someone ripped off the Adventurer’s Guild. Killed three of their members.” Kinsley said, in that same voice that sounded cold and calm, but was loud enough to reach the ears of anyone nearby.

“An individual dressed in black, riding a motorcycle.” Roderick added. His focus was held casually at his side, but his knuckles were white.

“Are you kidding me?” Astrid positioned herself between me and Kinsley. “He finishes this, and as soon as it's over, you assholes start throwing accusations around?”

“Enough, Astrid,” Roderick warned. “Think long and hard about whose side you’re on.”

Astrid reached in her pocket and withdrew a middle finger. “Sit and spin dickhead. The system putting a medal on your neck means nothing when you’ve been sitting around jerking off this whole time.”

“I’ve been delegating,” Roderick hissed.

“Delegate my foot in your ass.”

“Let’s just take it down a notch. Or several, for that matter.” Miles said. He put his back to the crowd and lowered his voice, so only I could hear. “We’ve all been under a shitton of pressure. Considering the day you’ve had, it’s understandable if you lost it. I can advocate for you. Just talk to me.”

“No.” I put a hand on Miles’ chest and gently pushed him away. When he tried to step forward, Grayscale got in his face, mirroring the moment we’d met.

“Back off,” the big man warned.

“Or you’ll, what, machismo me to death?”

Kinsley made her way around the clusterfuck and stood in front of me. “Myrddin. You’ve been nothing but a help to me. I don’t like this. I don’t wanna do this.” Her lip actually trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. “So just help me clear it up. The Adventurer’s Guild said whoever killed their members stole twelve lux. If it was you, there should only be ten left in that bag. If there’s more or less, you're cleared.”

Miles had zero reaction to the lie, immediately understanding the trap she was setting. Alternately, Roderick shot Kinsley a confused glance so over the top it was almost comical.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Kinsley,” I seethed, “But there’s eight.”

“Oh no.” Kinsley stepped away from me and sobbed. Her eyes remained dry. “That was a test you idiot, there were ten.”

Roderick raised his focus, his hand beginning to glow. “Pruning members can be difficult, if you’re unaccustomed to the experience. Allow me.”

There was a blur of movement. Miles had his hand on Roderick’s wrist, diverting his aim. There was something dark in his expression, utterly different from his aloof facade.

“You dare—“

Miles’ tone was menacing. “He saved more people than he killed today. By a significant margin.”

“Tell that to the Users whose cores he throws around like trophies.” Roderick attempted to break Miles’ grip, and when he couldn’t, lowered his arm.

“Why?” Kinsley asked me. They were late, but the tears she’d been struggling to summon now flowed easily down her cheeks. “We were helping people. That was the point.”

“Whatever he did, it doesn’t matter now.” Miles said, “You want him gone, fine. But let him go.”

Kinsley wiped her eyes and appeared to gather herself. “Leave the bag. I’ll get another member and return what’s left to the adventurer’s guild.”

“That’s it then? After everything that’s happened, we’re done?” I asked.

“We’re done,” Kinsley confirmed.

Without another word, I turned and ran.

/////

Minutes later, I cut through the building we’d selected previously, pausing for a scant few minutes to change into my hoodie and jeans. I wound my way through Kinsley’s sanctuary, and entered the garage. It was expansive, with enough space for a dozen of the largest vehicles you could imagine. The sliding door whirred, and Kinsley’s Bugatti pulled in. It looked even more ridiculous now that I had proper lighting—even with the booster seat, her head barely poked out above the dashboard.

I opened the door and let myself in.

“I really, really hope that was worth it.” Kinsley said. Her eyes were still red, and she swiped at them.

“It was the best I could come up with,” I said.

“You sure about this? Even if it was probationary members, they literally tried to kill you.” Kinsley shook her head. “I’d be livid, personally.”

I leaned forward in my seat. The earlier interrupted rest had reduced my fatigue, but it lingered around the fringes. Better to avoid getting too comfortable. “I’m certain.”

Kinsley tossed me a fresh blue gym bag, probably from her store. “Returning what you ‘took’ in a bag soaked with their members' blood is kind of a bad idea. Switch it over while I drive.”

“Got it.” I held on to the handle grimly as Kinsley peeled out of the garage. There was a real possibility our efforts here were in vain. That the unfortified receptacles could now only be filled with human cores.

Still, we had to try.