Figures draped in black and edged with silver stood a mile beyond us. Their black Griid-suits seemed unnaturally stark against the glowing whiteness all around. They stood and watched. We stood and watched. The tension crackled between our parties like lightning. They stood projecting easy confidence. We stood, trying to do the same. It wasn’t so easy.

  Magneblade spat on the ground. “Vegas, of course.”

  I said, “They’re too far away to use Assess. Jacob’s been running me through dossiers on the other teams, but I can’t remember their names. It would be okay if it was just the dossiers, but he bombards me with too much. For our sins, I know Julia Rosegold stands among them.”

  Magneblade said, “Aye, she does. I can’t say if that’s good or bad.”

  I said, “You can’t say? Julia is one of the most powerful Griidlords alive. I’d say her presence is cause enough for us to think about just calling it quits.”

  Magneblade cocked an eyebrow at me.

  I smiled, feeling foolish. If the enemy had consisted of five Morningstars, I would have been determined to contest this Orb. Chowwick had died scoring us the last fragments of the key. I could feel the weight of his actions and his absence even as I tried to focus on the thought at hand. It was amazing how I could forget his passing for a time, only to have that reality come charging back into the forefront of my brain, unbidden and unexpected. I blinked hard several times.

  Tara said, “She’s strong. She might be the strongest Griidlord alive. I heard she’s over level 70.”

  Magneblade scoffed. “Hardly, Tara. There’s none alive above level 70. If she was level 70, I might be promoting a strategy of escape myself.”

  We all smiled at that. None was less likely than Magneblade to deny himself the chance for battle.

  I said, “Again, Magneblade, why would you be unsure if it’s good or bad that our opponents count among their number a Griidlord of legendary power?”

  Magneblade tapped the side of his head with a thick armored finger. “You know the Empire chucked her out to Vegas because they don’t know what to do with her. They don’t want to take a being with her power out of the suit—they might never see the likes of her again. But they don’t want her central to the defense of the Empire either. The brain-rot is getting to her. She’s degenerating. Everyone knows she is. Look at her even now. She can’t hold fucking still. I bet she’s rambling to herself.”

  He was right. Three of the Vegas suits were standing together, conferring with each other as we were. But a fourth, slighter figure stomped through the snow a few yards away. She walked furiously, her movements aggressive, clearly agitated. Her arms waved at times, and she turned and gestured suddenly at intervals. My eyes narrowed. She looked like she was talking to someone. To the uninformed eye, it was clearly madness. To my eye, it might well have been madness. But I had to wonder…

  I reached out to the voice, speaking to it voicelessly. Enki, are you there? Enki?

  There was silence. It did nothing but deepen my suspicions. Enki seemed capable of only being in one place at a time. If Rosegold was nearly as powerful as I suspected she was, then there was every reason to believe that she was one of Enki’s prospects—that Enki was known to her.

  I said, “What good does it do us that she’s mad? This may surprise you, Magneblade, but the fact that a legendary killer opposing us may also be losing her mind brings me very little comfort.”

  Magneblade said, “She’ll wield her power poorly. Or she might at least. She’ll possibly make bad decisions. A daft urge in the heat of battle might be as bad for us as it is for them, but it lets the dice roll a little more—adds a little more randomness to what comes next.”

  I nodded. “I’m the one with type advantage against her. Are you saying she’s more likely to expose herself to me if she’s not thinking clearly?”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Magneblade shrugged, shifting his feet. “Well, yeah, that could happen. Can’t say I’d be excited at the idea of you going up against her. You’re probably on par with any of the rest of them in terms of level, but even with type advantage, she could probably cut you in half in one go.”

  I said, “We didn’t come here to take it easy. We came here to win—for Boston, for Chowwick. If I have to gamble by putting myself against her, then I will.”

  Tara was thoughtful. She said, “It’s a funny engagement we have coming up. Normally, you’d expect the Axe to be coming right at you, Ti. But everyone knows about your skill now, so he mightn’t be heading your way. And Rosegold is just an unknown. We could wind up with good type matchups.”

  Magneblade said, “Well, whatever happens, we should take the initiative. If they’ll have a hard time maneuvering for type advantage, then we should make it harder. We can’t let them dictate what comes next.”

  I said, “That’s just what I was thinking.”

  My eyes strayed to the quiet Olaf. He stood slightly apart from us. His gaze was fixed to the sky. I let my own focus drift skyward. We’d all seen the Orb descending when we’d arrived. It was truly breathtaking—a locked Orb. The clouds glowed with reflected rainbow lightning as it dropped. I had never seen an Orb that remotely approached the glory of its swirling surface. My mind truly reeled at the question of how many Flows resided there.

  Suddenly, the voice was there. “Sorry, kiddo, you rang? I was a little occupied elsewhere, but I was checking in with you.”

  My eyes turned to the figure of Rosegold. Her attitude seemed to have changed. She was still standing apart from the others, and she still had a nervous energy to her. But the hand-waving, gesturing, and pacing had all come to a stop. She no longer seemed to be having a conversation with an imaginary tormentor.

  My eyes narrowed. I thought to the voice, You were talking to her?

  The voice said, “What makes you think that?”

  I said, I can see it. She’s immensely powerful. Maybe the most powerful Griidlord alive. She was wandering around, ranting at something I couldn’t see, and you wouldn’t answer me. Then you started talking to me, and she stopped ranting.

  Enki said, “Pretty good, kiddo. I was talking to her.”

  I thought to it, Why? Why were you talking to her? Are you trying to choose between us?

  Enki said, “Kiddo, just because I can’t lie doesn’t mean I have to tell the truth. I’m going to play some of my cards close to my vest. But rest assured, if I’m hitching my wagon to either of you, it’ll be you. You might be a little bit behind her, but the way you’re going, you’ll catch up fast. And she’s already lost to me. Sad, really, isn’t it? You all get like that eventually. I’m sort of hoping you’ll be the exception to that rule.”

  I thought, Then what were you doing just now? Were you sabotaging her? Playing on her madness to stack the deck?

  Enki said, “I was just making sure she leaves you alone. She’s so strong. You have no idea. She could cut you in half by accident, as an afterthought. So don’t worry your pretty little head about it. If you stay away from her, then she’ll stay away from you.”

  I shuddered slightly. The insinuation was clear. My teammates could suffer the onslaught of her epic power, but I had an out.

  I thought, What if everyone goes down except me and her? What happens then?

  The voice said, “I’ll take care of that should it happen. But it’s unlikely. It’s more likely that she’ll do something stupid and get hurt by one of the others. She might put a couple of them down first, but she’s not functioning up top the way she used to.”

  I thought, Then what’s stopping me from going right at her myself? If she won’t fight me, I could drive her off, take the strongest piece off the board, help my team.

  Enki’s voice was suddenly severe. I heard the displeasure of a being of unknowable power directed at me. It said, “Don’t do that. I just offered you a tasty little deal—leave her alone, and she’ll leave you alone. You’ll have plenty of advantage going into the fight if you know you can maneuver without being concerned about her and knowing that their Axe will be too scared to come right at you while you’re toting that nasty skill of yours. Be happy with what I’ve given you.”

  I thought, Why don’t you want me going after her? Don’t you want me to do well? We’re partners, aren’t we? You’re already putting your finger on the scales—why not just remove her altogether?

  It was flustered now. Wh—would you— I said leave her alone. There’s shit happening here that goes beyond anything you can comprehend. Just leave her alone. Don’t test me on this, you little shit.