The doorbell rang and woke me up on a lazy Sunday in April. I was not expecting any guests and chose to ignore it, hoping whoever it was would go away. Unfortunately for me, the doorbell rang again, and again, and again, forcing me to get up. I tripped out of bed as I hurried to get dressed. “Hold on a second!” I yelled int0 the hallway as the doorbell continued to ring.

Arbiter Sid’s voice broke through the walls. “I would hate to have to let myself in, Elliot Lynch.” He knocked hard on the front door. “I’ve come to collect you.”

After dressing, I leaned against the door to look through the peephole to see that Sid was alone in his working suit and sunglasses. “Do you have a warrant?” I asked as I opened the door.

“Arbiters are above such formalities. You’re not in any trouble, just so you know, but you need to come with me.”

“And go where?”

Sid smirked. “I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

I followed Arbiter Sid to his black van. The two ginger-haired agents that assaulted Sam back in December were sitting in the front. The man was eating heavily seasoned fries and the woman ate a burger behind the wheel. Sid welcomed me to take a seat in the spacious back which had two longer seats against the sides with one being occupied by Beth.

I sat beside her and asked, “You too?”

Beth scowled. “Not by choice.”

“It was quite the struggle,” said Sid as he sat opposite of us. “But she relented when I told her you’d be coming along as well.” He pulled a laptop that was mounted to the side of the seat towards him and started typing away. “You can go back to sleep if you want. It’s gonna be a couple hours.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m awake now.”

Beth let out a short yawn and closed her eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

Arbiter Sid turned his attention back to me. “Well don’t go complaining that there’s no window to look out of. I’d sooner punch a hole in the side and shove you out of it—nearly did it with Sam… Speaking of, I hope that she hasn’t gotten into too much trouble since we’ve stopped monitoring her.”

“No trouble at all,” I replied. I wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“I trust you’re still friends. Or has she changed that much?”

“Still friends. She dresses differently but still acts mostly the same. I’ve gotten used to it now… but not everyone is okay with it.”

“I see… I tried to convince her to change her identity completely—most find it easier after emergence. Instead, she asked me to take her clothes shopping. Good to hear she’s getting some use out of it; figured she’d hate my fashion advice as much as my daughter does.”

“You? A daughter?”

Sid shook his head. “Ah, I’ve spoken too much.”

Beth spoke with her eyes closed, “Hard to imagine an arbiter actually having a family. Thought you all spent too much time destroying them.”

Sid kept a placid look. “It’s just a job, not a lifestyle. But there are some arbiters who can’t really let go of work at the end of the day. Too many have no one to go home to—or have no place to really call home. They think that a big heart’ll only get you killed. And I suppose there is some merit to the thought as we’re meant to be impartial judges that mete out death to the worst offenders of magic crimes. It’s why we take on separate identities… deaden emotions. I, however, employ different methods of arbitration that allow me to retain some semblance of normalcy. I’ve never had to kill anyone—and those two knuckleheads up front do most of the work… but that’s what they’re designed to do.”

“Hear that?” asked the man. “I think Sid's talking about us.”

The woman replied, “That old devil? Perish the thought.”

Sid muttered, “Arbiters often work alone or with operators, but Lucian insists on those two following me despite me telling him I have no need for agents.”

The man said, “Can’t get rid of us that easily. Lucian can always replace us, but he can’t replace you. That’s why we’re here.”

Sid shook his head with a grimace. “All because I’m a prince.”

I asked, “Prince? You’re an archdevil?”

With a look of some curious worry, Sid said, “Of course. I figured you could tell from my appearance… Did they not teach you the difference between us and the common devils at Mary Rose?”

Beth snickered at my ignorance. I tried to save face and said, “I meant to ask what clan you’re from.”

Sid seemed conflicted in his answer. “We don’t really recognize clans anymore; we decided that letting go of the old grudges was for the best. I won’t pretend that I don’t have lingering loyalty to my own, however. Clan Charis is the dominant one here—to be anything else is to be nothing.”

“Charis… you mean the invaders?”

Sid nodded, though corrected me. “Scholars, the best Lenoa had to offer. While it was our combined knowledge that helped the humans pinpoint rifts with life before the Convergence, Charis was the clan which first made contact with Earth—a real mess—and took all the blame for it.” He sighed, clasping his hands together. “Things would be a lot different if the majority did truly intend to invade.”

That seven-year gap in time between first contact with the devils and the Convergence was often glossed over in discussions over history, and those who lived through it often preferred not to speak of some years before, during, or after the Convergence. Those my age mainly assumed it was because of a collective trauma that existed in the back of the minds of those older than us—that they preferred to ignore the changes it brought in hope of returning to what they felt was normal. But what was normal before the Convergence was nothing more than a distant memory—a mere fantasy for children formed from blurbs and anecdotes collected from the adults around them. I said, “So many worlds all connected as one… the sharing of magic and technology to benefit all of us… I’d say your people have since proven their intentions by helping humanity into a new era.”

Sid waved his hand at the notion. “The reality of that time doesn’t quite fit the narrative you describe; helping humans was a mistake. Opening rifts allowed humanity to return to imperialism, exploiting each new planet and species for their knowledge and resources as had been done to the therians and their ‘savage’ society long before. Now the humans treat the Convergence as an isolated disaster and not the result of events led by their insatiable curiosity and greed. Even if it was truly something out of anyone’s control, humans retain the blame as we just don’t know what caused it to happen… With so many worlds doomed to destruction, maybe it’s a blessing that the rift to Lenoa was sealed before then—that those who remained were spared a terrible fate.”

I was beginning to realize the version of history I was taught was severely sanitized and removed from reality. I couldn’t help but ask, “What happened on Lenoa? Why did the rift get sealed?”

By that point in the conversation, Sid was becoming exacerbated with discussing events that happened so long ago. “I sincerely doubt you want a history lesson, especially from me of all people.”

“You did say the ride is gonna take a couple hours.”

Sid sighed and took a moment to prepare his thoughts, using the laptop to display supplemental information and pictures regarding what happened in the first contact between humans and devils in 1979. As he pointed out, he was there in the background of one of the photos with an archdevil using his tail to shake the hand of a human scientist. While I believe he spoke truthfully, I think he infused a bit of his own opinion into the story and masked it as fact—as is the flaw of some narration. Perhaps he was guiding me along the path to a truth which evaded many—to make things a bit easier to understand before a clandestine meeting.

❦ ❦ ❦

Lenoa, our home of somber beauty, was facing an existential threat when we opened the rift to Earth. Throughout most of our history, the clanless were governed by the twelve clans; each clan led by a king with several princes vying to be the next ruler of their respective bloodline. We archdevils all practiced blood magic as part of our culture, using the clanless as sacrifice to fuel our ceremonies, and studied magic in an occult fashion with no regard for improving the lives of those we deemed lesser. It wasn’t always that way, of course, as there was once a point in time where our ancestors were no different than the imps all devils came from. You see, the originators of the twelve clans all came across magic more advanced than anything they could fathom—a gift from a dead god—but there are some who see it as a curse placed upon us for meddling in ancient affairs beyond our understanding.

In truth, the first archdevils imbibed blood from a great serpent which changed them, persisting to this day in our blood. The gift granted them an exceptional understanding of magic, made them grow taller than our common kin, and allowed them to easily subjugate all who opposed them with magic. They then split off across the land, forming the clans by carving our only continent into territories which later became their own kingdoms. The clanless who lived in those places before them fell under their rule, becoming no better than serfs or slaves. And that is how things remained for many generations, only for the balance of things to become threatened when Dann’s king discovered that a new gift could be synthesized from his blood through alchemy.

Using this new, synthetic gift, Dann’s king gained powers beyond even the most advanced abilities of the other clans and sought to bring all of Lenoa under his rule. His retainers and children were also given the synthetic gift, and through them, many more. It came at a price, however, as the synthetic gift eventually took the minds of all it touched, causing those in Clan Dann to kill wantonly and spread it to those unwilling—not unlike an abomination—but much more insidious if you could believe it.

Life as we knew it was becoming unsustainable in the chaos created by Clan Dann. Their neighbors were soon overwhelmed by the clanless who had been turned, two kings dead before anyone realized what was going on. My home in the land of Clan Charis, further away from the developing chaos, was in the middle of those trying to flee and those trying to fight. Those in Clan Charis were also split in what to do until the idea of fleeing to another world came around. It was something once deemed too crazy, too dangerous to do considering how little we understood rifts. But when it comes to survival, well, death seemed a certainty if we remained. Neighboring clans had similar ideas and opened their own rifts… but few actually went anywhere survivable.

Their sacrifice helped us learn, of course. We were able to see how the rifts interacted with each other, how they resonated at times, and could make a better guess on where to open one and link it to another point. The site with the most promise was the one in the heart of Charis’ land—the one that led to Earth—with humans also trying to reach us due to all the activity we were creating. After princes from several clans and their retainers gathered for what seemed like our last, best hope, we all went through and ended up on a small island in Philadelphia—the humans already there to greet us.

While the bulk of us meant no harm in our exodus, some arrogant princes within our group felt that no lifeform could overcome the might of the archdevils, and so humans were deemed an inconvenience to be later conquered as we established ourselves. The cautious humans that approached us were quickly torn apart from the inside by blood magic to make an example of them to the others. We tried to restrain the aggressors, but soon found ourselves under fire. For all our magical prowess, we had no way of stopping a bullet… as we would soon learn.

It was a very bloody and short-lived conflict to say the least. Many of the other princes turned to violence as their brothers fell. I thought I would also find my end in the moment, that they would slaughter us all, but those who stayed near the rift were spared. I stayed with the clanless devils there, some princes also joining me, until the fighting stopped and humans in sealed suits approached us. We communicated in drawings at first until proper communication was established with the help of the valkyrie. We told them why we came, and what would come after us if nothing was done. We then asked for assistance—or at least a place to stay—in exchange for our knowledge of magic which seemed of interest to the military leaders.

Some in the military felt like they should send a nuke through the rift and call it a day, though the valkyrie were adamant on a less volatile occupation of Lenoa. The human military wasn’t equipped to handle environments that were practically bathed in mana back then, however. And since there weren’t enough mana-resistant humans to make much of a difference in occupying Lenoa, the Order of Veter was sent instead to fight the newly dubbed Dark Ones. At least, that is how they translated our name for those given the synthetic gift, their blood blackened by a taint which darkens the mind and soul.

The faithful valkyries and mana-resistant humans in the Order offered aid to the locals while their inquisitors protected the southern border. It ultimately wasn’t enough to dissuade the Dark Ones. No one, not us, or the inquisitors, were capable of fighting the Dark Ones who were in a constant frenzy—their numbers growing each day. The land I once considered home became stained in foreign blood, those still able returned to the rift for a final stand. It was then that Lucian, founder of the original Arbiters, brought his forces to Lenoa. Nobody knew much of them then—some mercenary company consisting of mana-resistant humans, therians, and various angels. Hidden in their ranks were chimeras, the true purpose of his intervention, a means to test their viability as soldiers… but few know that even now.

The tide of battle soon turned in our favor as the chimeras were able to reclaim our lost territory and solidify the Arbiters’ presence. They alone were able to kill even the most ferocious of the Dark Ones, making great headway in eliminating the remnants of Clan Dann and their neighbors; but that came at another cost. The chimeras, in their battles, became tainted by the black blood, and eventually succumbed to the madness it held within. None of them survived beyond the war—but neither did any of the Dark Ones. And in a year’s time, Lenoa was seemingly at peace once again.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of our troubles. With half of the kings dead and the absence of Clan Dann, the remaining clans were eager to take whatever power, people, and land they could from each other. Even the clanless were starting to rebel, noticing how scattered and weak their rulers had become. I saw the writing on the wall, and instead of returning to fight for a failing society, I joined other princes in brokering passage for our people with the humans. The Refugee Act of 1980 allowed for many of the clanless to leave Lenoa and gain citizenship in America, though they were forced into slums. Archdevils were given preferred treatment and status in exchange for their magical expertise, and many of us found our way into positions of power. The only caveat was that we had to renounce our titles, our clans, and become one people. But it’s more than titles which separate us from the now common devils—an overlooked detail that brought us favor in our categorization after the Convergence, considering.

We all hoped that we could retain passage between Earth and Lenoa as the valkyrie and therians had for their own worlds that time. Those who left Lenoa were seen as traitors and multiple factions started disrupting any efforts in moving people through the rift. Instead of risking hostility spilling over onto Earth, we made the hard decision to seal the rift. I can only speculate what happened in the years after. If they were affected by the Convergence, then it’s likely Lenoa was torn apart by the expanding rifts left open by those who fled the Dark Ones and never returned. I’d like to think my home still exists out there. Somewhere. I doubt we will ever know the answer for sure. Not in my lifetime, at least—light takes a while to catch up… But maybe our descendants will be able to return.

❦ ❦ ❦

It became dark inside of the van as we passed through a tunnel leading underneath the Georgia Institute of Magic. The repeating lights on the tunnel walls left us all to our thoughts with only the repetitious sound of the van moving through. The tunnel changed into rock with overhead lights becoming brighter and more frequent the deeper we went, leaving no shadows anywhere except below. We then stopped at a security checkpoint, massive bunker doors blocking the rest of the way.

“Stay here,” Sid said as he got out to talk with whoever was on watch.

Beth stuck her head out of the open side door. She waved for me to look out with her, a slight smile graced her face. I got closer to her and saw the guards more clearly. To my surprise, they were not people, but rather dolls that stood a foot tall and wore black cloth dresses with matching rabbit ears in a remarkable resemblance to Arbiter Alice. While their faces were flat, lacking a visible mouth and nose, their red eyes gave all the expression they needed. The doll Arbiter Sid spoke to was similar, only a couple inches bigger, and wore miniature riot gear. The doll stared intently at him and nodded with every word as he spoke, then set off back inside the guard outpost.

“The hell are those doing here?” asked the man in front. “What happened to the guards?”

The woman replied, “I think those are the guards.”

“I heard the rumors, but I never believed that psycho bitch—”

“Shh! She might do the same to us if they hear you.”

Sid came back to the van, looking down at me and Beth. “Seems I wasn’t invited. You two have to go on without me. We’ll be here when you get back, though.”

Beth jumped out of the van with me following close behind to the guard outpost. The dolls then surrounded us, hopping around in front of our feet as they looked up at us, seemingly trying to get our attention. They guided us past the outpost towards a wall with a chalk drawing of elevator doors. The wall itself began to open into an elevator in our presence with more dolls pouring out and gently pushing at our legs to go in. A small tower of them formed in the corner to push several unmarked buttons that lit up with each press. The elevator shifted and groaned; my body felt weightless as it descended further beyond where I thought the crust would meet the mantle. The dolls lifted into the air and wiggled their tiny arms to flutter about until a sudden stop had them scattering on the floor. Without much time to collect ourselves, the elevator opened, and a sudden blur passed by me.

“Surprise!” Arbiter Alice yelled as she tightly hugged Beth. Alice lifted Beth off the ground and walked her out of the elevator into what seemed to be a monitor room, only letting her go after a reassuring spin and squeeze. “Betcha didn’t guess I was here.”

Beth scowled and leaned away from Alice. “And where is exactly is ‘here?’”

“This is the Institute!” Alice guided us to a large monitor with a mix of measurements, footage, and live statistics all playing out at once. “This facility is a lot like the lab you came from.” She moved a mouse and clicked to expand a video of a cafeteria filled with seemingly human children in hospital gowns eating lunch. “Only difference is the food is much better!”

Beth frowned at the sight. “Vampires?”

“Abominations,” replied a tall man in a white suit as he joined us. He had short blonde hair and yellow eyes that showed he wasn’t human. His features were that of a valkyr, a male valkyrie, except his wings were missing. “Or will be soon enough.” He crossed a fist over his chest and bowed. “I am Lucian. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Arbiter Alice and Lucian stood next to each other in front of the large monitor. They both smiled at us as more of Alice’s dolls flooded into the room and started playing around the rows of computers meant for staff. Two dolls grabbed at my leg and guided me to sit down in one of the chairs, another two taking Beth to a chair on the other side of the room.

Lucian spoke again. “I have brought you both here to formally apologize. I can’t help but feel responsible for the life that was given to both of you. My actions, and Dr. Lynch’s research, created a real mess of things for all of you. I will be honest and say that I had my suspicions, but I am pleased to see that Dr. Lynch truly had honest, if not misguided, intentions. Clearly it was the right decision in allowing Rosa to watch over you both instead of keeping you here.” He faced Beth and spoke specifically to her. “I know that for you an apology means less than the breath it came from. I hope that you will at least understand why we held the others culpable while allowing you to live. I do not partake in such decisions, but I should have tried to convince the others to have a less… dramatic approach to the situation.”

Beth’s expression changed to a mix of anger and sadness. “You drag us away from our homes just to apologize to us? You may as well have sent a letter—it’d have delivered the same message and I’d have the pleasure of shoving it up your ass.”

Alice got a bit worked up and said, “Lucian is not responsible for—”

Lucian lifted Alice’s rabbit ears off her head, causing all of the dolls to lifelessly fall over and Alice to be frozen in place. “You have every right to be upset with me, Beth. But it is important that you were brought here as I mean to ask something of you both.” He turned to face the monitor while files of the children were put on display. “These poor souls suffer immensely from mana sickness. They have to be kept here to avoid all exposure to the trace amounts of mana in the air above. While many on the surface can emerge, these few will have less successful outcomes. Their bodies simply aren’t able to handle it.” Pictures of a young girl and her parents appeared on screen. “You healed Meghan’s illness with your blood. Contracts and blood pacts are not unknown to us, but the blood magic you used is something different. You created a bond which persisted beyond the normal limits of the human body. I find it… remarkable.”

Beth scoffed. “You sound just like the bastards at Somni Solutions.”

Lucian shrugged in response. “I’ve no doubt they had as much of an interest in it as I do. I may even end up doing what they want. What she wanted… But I am allowing you to make the choice yourself.” He turned to face Beth. “You could save these children. All I ask of you is a donation—a sample of your blood.”

Beth looked away and picked up one of the dolls, inspecting it and poking around at its face. “And if I don’t?”

“Then I will ask the remaining vampires until one hopefully agrees.”

“Why bother me at all, then? The answer is obviously no. I expect the rest to also refuse for all that you’ve done.”

Lucian didn’t allow it to end there. “I understand your blood creates a certain kinship with whoever receives it and changes their personality a bit. I believe that you have a naturally kind heart and would be a good mentor to them… a friend. But it’s sufficient enough that they be cured of mana sickness and enjoy the rest of their natural life—rather than suffer for things out of their control. But for you to refuse, well, perhaps I was wrong. They know their outlook is pretty bleak, and it’s not like they’ll know someone chose not to help them.”

Beth seemed conflicted with his words. “I was created from blood. How can I be sure that you won’t use mine to make other vampires?”

“Dr. Lynch ensured that whatever sample she used was lost. I will admit that we do have an idea of how she accomplished it, and that having your blood would assist in us finding out, but without the original source there is no guarantee that those hypothetical vampires would be viable—if not outright abominations in their own right. The danger of using synthetically derived blood is a lesson we have learned already.” He paused, then smiled. “Since you’re an umbran, I’m sure we could find some ample compensation for your assistance.”

While Lucian was talking, Beth took one of the dolls in front of her and stood it up, lifting its arms with her fingers. The doll came to life and started to step around as though it were a child learning to walk. After a moment, it stumbled over, staying in its lifeless state despite Beth’s prodding. “Fine,” she said with a huff.

Lucian placed the rabbit ears back on Arbiter Alice’s head. She instantly vanished and appeared next to Beth dressed as a nurse. The dolls all picked themselves up and a group of them pushed a stainless-steel utility table covered in medical supplies over to Alice.

Alice picked up a syringe. “I’m not certified to do this, just so you’re aware.”

Beth presented her left arm. “Just get it over with.”

Alice tied a tourniquet around Beth’s arm. She cleaned the crook of it with alcohol and pressed down on the veins. With no reservations, Alice unceremoniously shoved in the needle. Beth was unfazed as she collected the blood, with an excess forming around the needle and latching onto the rest of the syringe. Now filled with a deep crimson, Alice removed the needle, leaving small tendrils grasping at nothing around the insertion point and then returning to Beth’s body to seal the small hole left behind.

“Now you have to come with me,” Alice said as she removed the tourniquet.

“What for?” asked Beth.

Lucian said, “To help with the imprinting process. The results will be less than favorable otherwise, as shown in Somni Solution’s experiments. You remember that sense of abandonment? Don’t make it harder for yourself. Or for them.”

Beth said, “You better keep your word,” and begrudgingly went with Alice towards the drawn elevator, the horde of dolls packing in with them as they went off to somewhere unknown.

With it being only Lucian and me remaining, Lucian’s face became a bit grim. He adjusted his suit and cleared his throat, then said, “Onto the next matter.” The monitor switched to a live display of a room covered in chimeric fungus. Fungal pods dotted the floor and cocoons were kept above the ground on stilts. “This is our myceliary where we grow our chimeric soldiers. Do not be alarmed by the term—they agreed to serve us—the chimeras made from individuals who chose to join with it. You’ve met two of them already, in fact.” He faced me. “I understand that you are a chimera as well. One that was born young out in the wild and still aged. Is that correct?”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“You are certainly an irregularity. The ones made here are born as adults and remain the same age all their lives. Only the chimeras I met long ago exhibited such characteristics. Your strain… rather, your mind must hold many secrets long forgotten.”

“I have no such memories. I am Elliot the Human, not Elliot the Chimera. I remain solely myself in mind and memory.”

“Interesting.” Lucian scratched his head in an awkward silence. “There’s another like you that I know, but she chose to be both.”

The monitor zoomed in on a ginger-haired girl with blue eyes who seemed a bit younger than me. She was surrounded by dog-like mycanids and petting one, its six legs twitching and split jaw slobbering while a long prehensile tongue licked her hand. She, however, seemed emotionless and still—not wholly aware of what surrounded her.

Lucian frowned. “That chimera is called We. She was the source of the fungal strain which all chimeras have been born from on Earth; well, other than you. She isolated herself from the gestalt consciousness but remains connected to all who share her strain. This unfortunately means that she has lost a great many of her memories—her mind spread thin across the other chimeras. While they remain themselves, a part of her has invaded their mind. That gives her an aspect of immortality as her consciousness persists beyond her body. She can freely manifest herself in the others… that body you see is just one of many since I first met her. This is something that you should also be able to do, in theory.”

I was puzzled, the knowledge he had was never given to me by Rosa, if she even knew at all. “Why would I want that?”

“You would be able to realize whatever dreams you have for yourself with a new body.” He cleared his throat again. “But you haven’t wholly isolated yourself from the gestalt consciousness. It would be too overwhelming for you. That creeping desire to become one… it would make you a threat to this world; cause you to spread your spores, infect the minds of others, and create more chimeras. That risk will always remain so long as you live the way you are now—even beyond death—as I imagine you’ve already begun the transition into the next stage of your life cycle.”

I furrowed my brow at the implication. “What do I do, then?”

Lucian smiled. “I believe that if you merge We’s strain with yours, then both of you will benefit. You will be isolated as the others are, and We will regain the lost knowledge of the gestalt consciousness while remaining separate from it. Everyone wins.”

I looked away in thought. “You think that it’ll work?”

He nodded. “Yes. I think that would be the most agreeable resolution for all parties involved. It may seem a stretch, but what does your conscience tell you?”

It was tempting to me, despite feeling that it was wrong deep inside. The gestalt consciousness was a looming threat, and my own body was nearly at its limits, both in retaining its form and in keeping out the foreign minds. “Give me more time to decide. I do have time, right?”

“You have as long as your individual consciousness still exists.” He waved an arm towards a side door. “How about I introduce you to We—she might respond to your presence. It would be better than staring at each other until the others return.”

I got up and followed Lucian to the myceliary where the mycanids welcomed me at the entrance like a pet would their owner. We’s voice was soothing and familiar as I spoke to her, her words offering great insight into how I felt and what I was going through as it was a cycle she had gone through herself multiple times before. And after that intimate moment with my own kind, it was a cycle that I wanted to stop fearing.

When Beth and I reunited we had little to say to each other. It was a very quiet ride back home. I like to think that we made a silent agreement that we would not speak of that day again, and to carry on like it never happened. But the truth is we had to come to terms with it in our own way, on our own time. And for me, well, I began to look towards the future.