Yon was elbow deep in Kano’s chest cavity, with a fixed, manic grin on her face. The bright light of her workroom hung over the table Kano was on. At first, Yon had some semblance of restraint. But as she learned more about Kano, her excitement grew until she’d insisted on exploratory surgery. To Kano it seemed more like someone digging for treasure. A continuous stream of praise issued forth from Yon’s mouth as she explored the inner reaches of Kano’s body.

They lasted until she reached where the heart would be on a ghoul, and she froze. Wide eyed, she stared as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. She stopped moving except for her mouth, which opened and closed as she tried to form words. Eventually she calmed herself enough to speak. “What is that thing?”

Kano looked down at what she was referring to. The pulsating purple orb, covered in sharp ridges, was connected to the rest of her body by thick bundles of synthetic strands of flesh. She didn’t understand what Yon was so surprised about; the answer was obvious. “It’s my heart.”

Yon prodded the orb with her gloved finger. “How on earth is that a heart? It doesn’t even look biological. And why do you need a heart, anyway? You don’t have blood.”

Kano frowned. For a necromancer, Yon didn’t seem to know much about how people worked. “What does that have to do with anything? My heart is what I use for feelings. Stuff like hunger or anger.”

Yon blinked. “Yes, I know what feelings are. Is hunger even a feeling…? But anyway, do you have no other idea what this thing does?”

“What’re you talking about? Is it supposed to do other things?”

Yon sighed and pulled her arms out of Kano’s body. “I’m done here. I think I’ve learned everything I can without taking you apart… I can’t take you apart, right?”

Pouting, Kano shook her head.

Yon walked over to the sink beside the table Kano was on and washed her hands. “Didn’t think so. Who made you, anyway?”

What nonsense was this supposed necromancer spouting now? “Made me? No one made me. I’m not a ghoul.”

Massaging her face with her now clean palms, Yon sounded exhausted. “But… you only superficially resemble a natural creature at best. How do you think you came into existence if not by a necromancer’s hand?”

Kano looked away. “If you don’t understand how reproduction works, I’m not going to explain it.”

All trace of Yon’s previous excitement had disappeared, and she looked a decade older. “It’s such a waste that whoever made you couldn’t give you a proper soul. Rather spoils what would otherwise be an exceptional piece of work. I can’t fathom what they were thinking…” Shaking her head, she closed Kano back up and applied a liberal coating of ascepaline gel over the wound to speed up recovery. As the gel was absorbed into Kano’s body, the flesh knit itself back together. “I wasn’t sure if ascepaline would even work on your body, but you’ve taken to it well. We’re all done with the examination, but there is one thing I’m still curious about. You have a natural soul, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Kano rolled her eyes. Wasn’t it obvious? “I thought you necromancers were meant to know all about that stuff.”

“See, normally I’d agree with you. But I’m not really sure what to make of yours. I’ve never seen a soul quite like it. I can’t say for sure if it’s natural or synthetic. If anything, it seems more like some combination of the two. Do you really have no idea who made you?”

“I already told you—”

“No one made you, right, right. Forget I asked. I wouldn’t be surprised if your bizarre soul is part of the reason why you’re… the way you are. Well, whatever. Once you’re ready, let’s collect your friends, and I’ll tell you what I know about the necromancer you’re looking for.”

Kano looked up from watching, fascinated, as her chest healed. “Sure.” She hadn’t been paying much attention to what Yon had been saying, but she got the gist of it. Checking that she was clean, Kano got dressed. By the time she was done, Yon was still busy cleaning and making notes, leaving Kano to her own devices.

Now that she was upright, Kano took a better look around the room. She hadn’t had much of a view from the operating table. It was divided in two by a plastic curtain—the table and equipment on one side, a collection of specimens on the other. They were carefully organized and labeled, each one arranged so it was near those like it. Most were just pieces of a larger creature: a series of fanged ghoul skulls, a pair of intact spinal cords, preserved eyes of all colors, and many that Kano didn’t recognize.

But the most notable piece, which Kano drifted toward the moment she spotted it, was what appeared to be an enormous flower. Tucked away in a corner, it was suspended in a clear fluid within a glass tank. Kano had seen the preserved remains of a few ancient flowers, but this was nothing like those. The petals formed several rings, alternating between green and yellow. Most striking of all, however, it all appeared to be flesh and bone.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Yon said, walking up behind her.

“It’s definitely weird. What is it?”

“I’m not entirely certain of its origins. But from what I’ve learned, I feel confident in saying that it was an attempt to create a flower capable of housing a soul.”

The idea didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Kano, but it was still intriguing. “An attempt? Did it work?”

Standing beside her, Yon shrugged. “It did, for a certain definition of working. The resulting creature couldn’t move or eat or do much of anything. It only survived for a few days.”

“Where did you get it from?”

“An associate of mine, said they stole it from a necromancer, but they wouldn’t say who. Honestly, I could talk about this all day, but we should probably get going. I’m sure the others are waiting for you, and I have other things to do.”

Urick and Nove were both waiting outside Yano’s workroom. The former looked indifferent while the latter was a picture of worry. Nove rushed over to Kano, her huge feet booming as they struck the ground. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Kano pushed her back with all her might, but only managed to shift the beast a fraction. “I’m fine. She did cut me open a bit, but she put everything back. I made sure.”

Straightening her robes, Yon took off the large plastic apron she’d put on over the top. “Yes, yes. No need to worry; she’ll be perfectly fine. I didn’t damage any of her organs.”

Nove relaxed and stepped back to stand beside Urick. “Then you’re ready to give us the information we want?”

Yon’s upper lip twitched in irritation. “I was just getting to that. The necromancer you’re looking for must be Gresitosis. He’s the only other one who lives around here. At least that I know of. And I could definitely believe that he’d want Shorinstown for himself. He’s made a few attacks on my home as well, the arrogant prick. His stronghold is underground, in the old subway tunnels.” She told them how to find it, then added, “If you could get rid of him, it would be a favor to me, if anything.”

Looking around the room, Urick licked his lips. “Why don’t you help us out, then? It’s in both our interests, right?”

“Sorry,” Yon said, with an apologetic smile. “I’d like to. I really would. But my resources are stretched thin as it is. I agree that what you’re doing will help both of us, but there’s little point in risking my life. I’m sure you can all understand that.”

Kano rolled her eyes. “Totally.” She brushed past the necromancer and headed for the exit, not bothering to see if the others were following. Where else would they go, anyway? They were lost without her.

Once she was outside, Kano took a deep breath. She’d always hated the smell of necromancer’s lairs; they reeked of blood and chemicals. Yon’s hadn’t been as bad as some she’d visited, but it wasn’t pleasant. Dredging through her memories, Kano tried to remember when she’d visited these other lairs, and who’d they belonged to, but nothing came to mind.

She’d given up trying to remember when the others caught up with her. Glancing back over her shoulder, she took stock of her companions. Unarmed, unarmored, and practically braindead. Not exactly the help she wanted to assault a necromancer’s stronghold with. They were lucky they had her to make up the difference.