Kano was sitting down to eat with Thirty-Six when Yon burst in. “There you are.” She hurried over to them.

“What happened?” Kano asked. “Did you figure something out about the network?”

“I wish,” Yon said, flustered. “No, there’s a group approaching the facility. I took a break from analyzing the network and tapped into some of the center’s systems. The defenses still don’t work, but I got the sensors online. They detected a group of eight moving toward us, about a kilometer out when I last checked.”

Kano kept eating. “So? How do you know they’re coming here?”

“Because they’re moving right toward us,” Yon said, narrowing her eyes. “It’s not like there’s much else out here.”

“Well, let them come, then.” Kano shrugged. “Can’t you make more golems or something to deal with them?”

“I could, but I’m not sure how well it would work. I know it must be hard for you, but try using your brain for a second. Don’t you think this timing is far too convenient? Whoever’s out there must know what this place is and want it for themselves.”

Seeing that the necromancer wasn’t going to be deterred, Kano stuffed her remaining food into her mouth. “Fine, let’s see what this is all about. Thirty-Six, you wait here.”

Thirty-Six nodded, not looking up from her food. Following Yon, Kano made her way to the top floor, the only part of the building with windows.

“I couldn’t get the cameras working,” Yon said, “but I found these.” She handed Kano a pair of binoculars. “They should come into view soon.”

Taking them, Kano scanned the area. She was bored of staring out at the ruins by the time she spotted them. There were eight, as Yon had said, moving at a brisk pace toward the center. Five of them were ghouls; Kano could tell that much at a glance. But alongside them were two hulking abominations like Nove. One had an abnormally wide mouth, far beyond human proportions, while the other was covered in black scales.

They were armed with a motley collection of rifles, many of them rusted. Those didn’t worry Kano, not compared to the person leading them. It was Shorin. The madman himself had come here. Kano wouldn’t have believed it if she weren’t looking right at him. There was no mistaking his bright red skin, even at this distance. Why had he come here? It made no sense. After he’d taken the city from the necromancer who once occupied it, she’d never heard of him leaving. But here he was, in the flesh.

Kano took a deep breath. “I think we should leave.”

Yon blinked. “What?”

“We should leave. As soon as possible.”

Yon snatched the binoculars and looked out at the approaching group. “Why? I thought you were confident we’d be able to handle them. Honestly, I was worried it was another necromancer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“I wish it were,” Kano said. “This is worse.”

Yon shook her head. “You’re not making any sense. How is this worse?”

“Shorin is more dangerous than any necromancer I’ve ever heard of.” Kano stared out the window. “And I really doubt he’s here to talk if he’s come all this way.”

She was already thinking of how best to make her escape with Thirty-Six regardless of what the others did.

“I’ve never heard of him, but I’ll humor you for now. Even if he is as dangerous as you say, how can we possibly give this place up?”

“You don’t understand,” Kano said hotly. “It’s that or we’re probably all going to die.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand.” Yon put her hands on her hips. “So tell me, why are you so afraid of this guy?”

Kano’s brow furrowed. It wasn’t that she was afraid, more just cautious. Yet the reason behind that eluded her. She couldn’t remember having heard much about him, and her brief meeting with him had revealed little. Beyond him being the undisputed ruler of Shorinstown, she didn’t know much about him at all. Whatever her past with him was, it had left her with the impression that he was dangerous. She couldn’t ignore that, even if she remembered nothing else. It was reason enough to avoid him.

“I know it’s unreasonable to expect you to take my word for it, but I can’t explain it. He’s really dangerous. That’s all I can say for sure.”

“Even if you’re right,” Yon said, “what am I supposed to do about it? I can’t leave; the network is far too valuable to abandon. It’s no exaggeration to say it’s the discovery of a lifetime. Probably the discovery of the century. Is there nothing you can do? I’m willing to pay. I’ll give you more than enough for a new body.”

Kano grimaced. So this was what it came down to. Risking her life on someone else’s behalf for the chance at a new body. The prospect of it didn’t sit well with her, but what choice did she have? For the first time that she could remember, Kano felt fear. It held her in its icy grip, trying to keep her in place.

But it wasn’t Shorin she feared. It was the thought of dying when she had so much left to do. It was unacceptable. And if this was her only chance to avoid her body failing, then she had to take it. Even if it meant she might die here and now.

“Fine. If you’re willing to pay, then I’ll do it. But I want you to promise me something.” She didn’t put much stock in a necromancer’s promise, but it was worth a try.

Yon gestured for her to continue.

“Promise me that if I die, you’ll give up on this center and run away with Thirty-Six.”

“Is that really necessary?” Yon asked, frowning.

Kano crossed her arms. “It is if you want my help. Otherwise I’m leaving you to face Shorin on your own.”

“Fine,” Yon said, rolling her eyes. “If that’s what it’ll take, then I promise. But I expect you to put some effort in. Don’t die pointlessly. It’s not much of a deal if I’m the one doing all the work.”

“Of course not.” Yon made it sound like she was intending to get herself killed. That was the last thing she wanted to do. “I won’t die unless there’s no other option.” She cleared her throat and muttered, “Probably.” It was hard to speak with much confidence when the foe was both unknown and formidable. “I’ll wait for them outside. No use letting them get in if we can stop them there. Think you’ll be able to help with the defense?”

Yon nodded. “I should be able to figure something out in time. I’ll send anything I make out to fight with you, assuming you need it.”

“What about the humans?”

“What about them?” Yon asked, raising an eyebrow. “I doubt they’ll be able to offer much assistance.”

“Rovon might be able to help with getting the center’s own defenses working again, but that’s not what I meant. Shouldn’t we tell them to evacuate or something?” Kano didn’t much care, but they deserved a warning at least. It was the decent thing to do.

“I doubt it would do much good. They’re already suspicious enough as it is—warning them might create more problems. And even in the best case, I can’t see them following your warning. I say ignore them. If Shorin storms the facility after killing you, then they’ll probably flee on their own. If not… well, I refuse to take any responsibility for their stupidity.”

Yon criticizing them for overstaying when she was doing practically the same thing was amusing to Kano. She’d have enjoyed pointing that out to the necromancer, but now didn’t seem the time for such frivolities. Not when they were both facing impending death.

“Fine, we won’t tell them.” It didn’t feel right, but she could see the logic in what Yon was saying. “I’m heading out, then. I hope your preparations go well.”

Kano made her way back through the levels. Running down so many stairs wasn’t how she wanted to prepare for the coming battle, but she didn’t want to lose any time. Even if she ended up waiting for them, better to wait out there than in here. Besides, there was no way of knowing if they’d changed speed since she last saw them. The idea that they could be walking into the center at this very moment, with her none the wiser, made her anxious.

Chastening herself to focus on the now rather than worrying about what might happen, she pushed her emotions aside. They were still there, but she tried not to pay them any mind. Reaching the front door of the whole complex, Kano took a deep breath and stepped outside.

She took in her surroundings in a series of quick head movements and exhaled; there was no one else out here. Shorin must not have arrived yet. Narrowing her eyes, she looked out toward the horizon where she’d spotted them earlier. It was hard to see them without the binoculars from this angle, but she could make out their figures in the distance.

One, two… She strained her eyes until she confirmed all eight.

With nothing to do but wait, she made use of one of Yon’s discarded golems. Though they’d lost their animation, they could still serve as seats. She didn’t particularly want to sit on one of the misshapen things, but it was that or the ground. Crossing her legs, she watched Shorin’s group approach.

She tried to keep her breathing even and avoid thinking about what was about to happen, turning her thoughts to what would come after this. She didn’t know how she would get a new body, so she focused on the concept. Of being free of this dread and the frustration of her faulty memory, of not knowing what was real. If she survived here, that would all end.

She realized, with a snort of amusement, that the same would happen if she died. Then there’s nothing to worry about. Looking at it that way didn’t seem so bad. She lamented that her worries weren’t that easy to avoid in reality. Shorin’s group spotted her during their approach, but none of them readied their weapons. Seeing they were willing to talk, Kano relaxed a little.

She doubted there was any way they could reach a peaceful resolution, but talking would buy time for Yon. Even so, Kano didn’t have high hopes—it was hard to imagine a necromancer could do much with so little time to prepare. Not when they were so far from her lair with its wealth of materials and army of readymade ghouls.

Shorin and the rest of his group halted within a stone’s throw of Kano. Saying something to his men that Kano couldn’t hear, Shorin stepped forward to meet her. “Fancy meeting you out here.”

“I could say the same to you,” Kano said, not believing him for a second. “What brings you all the way out here?”

He spread his hands. “The same thing as you, I should think. There’s something quite valuable in that place behind you, and I mean to take it for my own. Do you have a problem with that?”

“I do,” Kano said. “I did all the hard work of getting in here. Why should we let you swoop in and take what’s rightfully ours?”

“Well, that’s why I’ve got this lot with me,” he said, gesturing toward the group behind him. “Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on asking at all. But seeing as you and I go way back, I thought I’d do you a courtesy. I’ll let you, and whoever else you dragged along, leave here alive. Assuming you do so in the next few minutes. I don’t have all day.”

He grinned and made a show of ensuring his gun was loaded.