Suddenly, there is a faint thrum, the windows and the furniture in the room vibrate, Baia’s make-up products clink and goosebumps cover my body, warning me that a threat is near.

  “He’s here…” Baia whispers in a trembling voice. “Demetrikus.”

  I have no idea who Demetrikus is, but it definitely isn’t a good sign when someone from his own species is terrified of him.

  And out of nowhere, a UFO appears in the window. It starts out as a tiny, round dot in the sky and becomes huge in a second, silently approaching the building, smoothly gliding through the air in a straight line. I don’t know much about aircrafts and their speed limits, but even I can tell it’s approaching unnaturally fast.

  “Umm, Manuchar?.. Please tell me you are also seeing a round alien spaceship hovering outside the window?”

  “Oh god, I was afraid you’d say that.” He says in a grim tone. “No, I don’t…”

  It makes sense that he doesn’t see it. If he saw the UFO, it would mean the whole town would be able to observe it, causing total chaos.

  The spaceship is so close that I can only see a shiny, silver piece of it. Its smooth, metallic surface is reflecting the lights from the room and when I sit up to take a better look, I realize with a shock that I can see my own confused and distorted face peering back at me from the surface of the craft.

  Suddenly a tiny, rectangle door opens up in the middle of the spaceship and bright light shines from it. I freeze in anticipation of what’s coming next. For a second I forget the danger we’re in, feeling like a character in a Spielberg film.

  A long, thin bridge descends from the rectangle door to our window, and a giant silhouette appears in the entrance of the UFO. He steps onto the bridge which turns into a gliding walkway. The Reptilian zooms in towards us with a weapon in his hand that resembles a rectangular handgun. He aims it at the windows.

  “Step back from the wind...” Baia starts to shout but she’s interrupted by the windows bursting open. Glass flies everywhere, scraping our cheeks with its tiny pieces.

  The floor shakes when the huge Reptilian steps into the room. He has swampy colored skin, huge muscles, a strong jaw and for some unknown reason, he is completely naked, if we don’t count some weapons strapped to his sides.

  Thank god he doesn’t have genitals, he is completely smooth down there. Despite the pressing matter of a terrifying creature bursting into the room through the window, a question rings through my mind - how do Reptilians reproduce?

  He scans the room and clicks on his belt.

  A thin rope shoots in my direction, wrapping around me at lightning speed. I don’t even have time to react. Somehow, in several seconds, I am completely immmobile, dragged like a rag doll into submission by a stupid rope.

  My legs are so tightly tied together, they immediately go numb. I topple to the ground with a groan.

  The Reptilian turns towards Manuchar and clicks on the belt again. A second rope shoots out of it.

  Manuchar tries to evade it by jumping away, but the rope easily changes directions mid-flight. Manuchar keeps jumping around, while the rope is actively pursuing him. I’m intently watching a peculiar dance between a rope and a human being.

  Unfortunately, he can’t keep jumping forever. The rope wins and I’m torn between laughter and crying when I see Manuchar fall to the floor, wrapped like a silkworm in its cocoon.

  “Good evening, everyone,” The Reptilian starts to talk. An unpleasant wheezing sound escapes his lungs. “Demetrikus, lieutenant of the special Reptilian forces is here to punish the enemies of Phaeton and eradicate the threat the Order of the Crux imposes on our people. You’ve been directly meddling in our affairs, preventing us from finding justice, helping and harboring our enemies. You are found guilty and sentenced to Desolation performed by the Teja wolves.”

  Enemies of Phaeton? Sentenced to Desolation? I have no idea what he’s talking about. I feel like I’m dreaming.

  I can’t move, the rope is tightly wrapped around my body, so I crane my neck, trying to check if Baia is still in the room. She is here, sitting on the floor, looking miserable.

  “Help is on the way, Demetrikus! You won’t get away with this!” I shout at him.

  The giant Reptilian’s face morphs into confusion. He scratches his head with his ugly, pointy claws.

  “I’m… I’m not Demetrikus. I’m his assistant.”

  What?!

  Suddenly a soggy, bright green hand appears through the broken window and feels around the window frame, finally locates the lock and clicks it open. The broken window swings inward.

  “Something is wrong.” Manuchar says in a grave voice.

  A second Reptilian slithers inside the room on all fours, carrying a black medical bag on his shoulder. I physically recoil when I see him. He has a huge smile spread across his face - a gaping black hole without teeth - just a permanently smiling face with two, gleaming black sockets as eyes.

  The new Reptilian hungrily looks around the room until his obsidian eyes rest on my face. The open-mouthed smile brings me unimaginable terror.

  His gaze moves onto Baia.

  “Oh, is that you, Baia, dear? You’ve been undercover for so long, I forgot what you look like.” The real Demetrikus has an unpleasant, breathy voice. He barks out a laugh, opens his bag and starts taking out some items one by one, adding them next to the make-up products on the dressing table. I can only recognise a knife and a needle, the other items are alien to me.

  “In case you were wondering, children, I am Demetrikus, this giant boy right here is Gajo, my muscle and my friend’s son. Yes, you may call it nepotism, but he is really useful. You see, my body has been failing me since birth. I don’t know if you know this Nia and Manuchar, but, since we can’t reproduce naturally anymore, all Reptilians are born in incubators. Some are not lucky, 35% of us are born deformed. But, I never complain, because I have a brilliant mind, which might let us win the war and reclaim our DNA. Hah! But I’m jumping ahead of things, forgive me…” He turns towards Gajo the giant. “Gajo, dear, can you run to the ship and bring me the Spirit Machine?”

  Gajo immediately sets out to fulfil the task.

  Hope ignites in my heart. Demetrikus may be terrifying to look at, but he seems like a nice guy. Perhaps he won’t hurt us?

  “Evil itself has walked in the room.” Manuchar whispers in my ear. “I feel his darkness. I don’t know how we’re getting out of this Nia, I’m sorry we brought you here. I’m sorry we did this to you.”

  Oh…

  The Reptilian shuffles closer to me on all-fours, holding something in his hand. ““Hello little girl. Hold out your hand, please.”

  I try to wiggle out my hand from under the ropes.

  Demetrikus slits my wrist in one swift motion and puts a white cup underneath, to gather my blood. It’s so painful, I can’t even make a sound. My vision starts to swim.

  “What are you doing?!” Manuchar’s voice trembles.

  My blood fills half of the cup. After it’s done, Demetrikus sprays some green liquid on my wound. It burns. I finally get my voice back and yell in pain.

  “The spray will stop the bleeding. Be thankful.”

  “Be thankful?!” I spit out.

  Gajo returns with a black device that resembles a coffee machine. It must be the Spirit Machine Demetrikus sent him for.

  “Oh, child. This is nothing, compared to what’s coming for you both.” Demetrikus takes the device and puts the cup inside the Spirit Machine.

  He slouches even lower, greatly resembling an oversized lizard at the moment.

  The machine starts to whizz and soon some writing appears on the screen.

  “FASCINATING!” He turns towards me and starts running around me on all fours from excitement. “Nia! You are the best specimen I’ve ever examined! Your blood! Oh my god!” He jumps around, clapping like a maniac. His perpetually open mouth opens even wider.

  I’m terrified.

  “You might save our entire race! After I wipe your mind, I will chain you in my lab and experiment on you until I find the cure for us! Baia, did you hear what I just said?!”

  I turn toward Baia, she doesn’t seem happy, she looks disgusted.

  “Over my dead body!” Says Manuchar.

  “Well, that can be arranged.” Demetrikus laughs out loud and hits Manuchar with surprising force. Manuchar falls down and slams his head on the floor, losing consciousness.

  I start to cry.

  “Nia, Nia. Listen. I’m not a monster. Unlike the real monsters, I don’t get pleasure from inflicting pain. I just do what’s necessary for the survival of my people. These procedures are pure science.”

  “You’re insane…” I shake my head in disbelief.

  “Insanity is good. It means I can dream big and dare to attain the unattainable.” Demetrikus looks at the wolves and smiles. “Okay, enough talking. Huginn, Muninn, start the Desolation!”

  The wolves jump up, happy to finally be given a task.

  As Baia told us, Desolation entails biting our energy centres from the bottom up. When the wolves reach our heads, our minds will be wiped clean.

  I’m so tired. I want to go home and lay down on my bed… But I don’t think I’m ever going home.

  The wolf with the crooked left ear licks my foot and then, without a warning, bites down the space around it. It feels like a hot boiling liquid is poured into my calf, burning everything on its way. I let out a blood-curdling scream. I didn’t expect it to hurt this bad.

  I think I even black out for several seconds. When I finally open my eyes, I see the other wolf biting down around Manuchar’s legs. He’s still out of it. But thankfully, he seems to be breathing.

  I envy him. I wish I was also unconscious.

  In several seconds the pain completely stops and everything below my knees goes numb. I can neither move nor feel the legs anymore. As Manuchar described the sensation earlier - there are no physical bite marks but it feels like dead meat.

  “I don’t want it! Please! I want to go home!” I plead with Demetrikus, trying to break free from the ropes.

  “At least you had a home! We never had it! We’ve been living on these pieces of junk for eternity!” He motions at the UFO outside the window.

  “Why am I getting punished for that?! I didn’t make you live on spaceships!” I fight back.

  “It just happens that you are a member of the Order of the Crux, one of the many orders who are working with our enemy - Atlanteans. Since we’re not allowed to kill you, we will burn out all your energy centers. This is more merciful, believe me. We need to stop you somehow and we thought of this method! Be thankful!”

  “You will be a walking shell of a human, forever seeking the soul that you’ve lost… never, ever finding yourselves again…“ Says Gajo in a sudden burst of talkativeness.

  “Shut up, Gajo.” Demetrikus snarls at him.

  I am seized by terror. It dawns on me that this is reality, this is really happening to me. If they really erase my mind, my life, as I know it, will be over. Everything I’ve accumulated, everything I’ve dreamt about, thought about, experienced, realized, it will all be gone.

  And, worst of all, all the memories of my father will disappear forever. I will make new memories with people around me, but not my father. He will forever be erased.

  I cry out. It feels like he will die a second time.

  Huginn, the wolf assigned to me, the one with the crooked ear, bites down around my thighs. Unbearable pain sears through my leg, it is somehow even worse than the first time.

  I feel like my heart won’t take it. The pain, the terror, being assaulted, feeling so helpless…

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Demetrikus turns his back on me and continues to tinker with my blood in the Spirit Machine.

  “Fascinating, simply fascinating.” Demetrikus claps again, acting like Christmas came early. I feel sick. The more he likes my results, the less chance I have to walk free.

  “Humans having powers is an anomaly, you know that right? It’s not supposed to happen, but it does. And I want to know why. Some are just born gifted and it’s my job to research this phenomenon. It might hold a clue to our survival.”

  “He loves gifted people, he has a lot of humans chained in the base, experimenting on them.” Says Gajo with a proud smile.

  Demetrikus lifts the Spirit Machine and clicks on the purple button on top. A bright light shines out of the centre of the machine, directly onto my legs. They slowly turn transparent and I can make out the white-colored Energolight filling my lower legs - the same image I saw in the Spirit Cabinet.

  “Look at her Energolight! It is up to her knees! This is amazing! She’s just naturally gifted like that! We are so lucky! Does the stupid Order of the Crux even know who they’ve recruited? They probably don’t, they’re imbeciles.” Demetrikus rubs his hands together.

  “And the boy,” he motions towards Manuchar, “I think he’s Sensitive. Scan him.”

  Gajo takes the machine and shines it onto Manuchar’s legs. Half of his body becomes transparent and milky white substance fills up his legs - his Energolight is reaching to the middle of his shins.

  “Not that good but not bad either.” Demetrikus mutters to himself.

  I feel rage trying to rip out of my chest. I want to kill him. I’ve never wanted to kill someone before. I’m pretty sure, if I was set free and someone gave me a knife, I would stab him directly in the heart.

  If he even has a heart.

  “We’re gonna take everything now. During Desolation, the immense pain and negativity will release burned up Energolight and I’m going to gather it here.” He points at a thin rod that looks like an overgrown pen. “I wish the boy was conscious, I need him to feel pain and fear, Gajo, wake him up.”

  Gajo bends down and slaps Manuchar hard. The sound echoes around the room.

  He doesn’t stir.

  “Pour water on him.”

  Gajo takes Baia’s discarded water bottle and pours everything onto Manuchar’s head. But he’s still unconscious.

  “Ok, leave him. He will wake up at some point.” Says Demetrikus.

  At that moment, Huginn bites me around my waist and, after several seconds, moves to my stomach. I have no physical wounds, but I can feel my energy centres collapsing… I can’t feel my body below my waist. It’s completely numb.

  Bite - my blood-hurdling scream - numb body parts - pause - repeat.

  The wolves are slowly advancing upward, to our heads, methodically destroying the energetic centres in our bodies with their special teeth. Sometimes they take longer breaks, sometimes they continue without a break.

  I don’t know how long the Desolation has been going on. Half an hour? One hour? It feels like I’ve been here for eternity. As if my life has been nothing but this - being tied up and bitten down by wolves.

  “I fuckin hate you!” I yell at Demetrikus.

  “Imagine you’re milking a cow and the cow tells you it hates you. Will you stop milking them? Or will you continue?”

  “If I’m a cow then you’re the ugliest lizard in the universe!”

  Demetrikus frowns at first, then he laughs out loud and points at me.

  “To me YOU are ugly! Look, she’s so ugly, she’s so ugly, look at that! Right, Gajo?”

  “You’re right, sir. She is.” Gajo lets out a fake laugh, also pointing at me.

  The other wolf, Muninn, bites Manuchar close to his chest. I keep one eye on him, because I know that when the wolf gets to his head-centre, his mind will be erased.

  All hope is lost. Soon Nia will be gone and I will just be an empty shell. They will carry my brainless, paralyzed body to my house and put me on the bed. My mom will have to stay home and take care of her hopeless daughter.

  Will she even do it? Or will she hire a caretaker for me? I am pretty sure she will hire a caretaker. That thought, for some reason, makes me smile. She’s a little cold and pragmatic, but she’s still my mom and I know she loves me… I miss her.

  “Demetrikus, sir…” I hear Baia’s weak voice. Demetrikus turns his head towards her. “You promised me that if I helped you, you would grant me any wish. My wish was to be set free and to be allowed to continue being a musician, without anyone’s intervention and supervision, but my human face was destroyed, you see?” She points at her face. “They used their bombs on me and I’m guessing it will take a very long time restore the exact replica of it… So, since it won’t be possible, can I spend my wish on something else?”

  “And what is it?” Demetrikus turns serious. His icy cold voice sends shivers down my spine. “What’s the new wish?”

  “Uhh, please don’t get me wrong, but I just feel really sorry for these kids. They’re so young… Why don’t we kidnap older members of the Order and let these kids go?..” Baia is trembling.

  Demetrikus lets out an ugly laugh.

  “I will pretend you didn’t say that, Baia.”

  “But…” Baia starts.

  “SILENCE! Never repeat that again or I will have you hanged for treason!”

  I throw a grateful look at Baia. She smiles at me weakly.

  The wolf chooses this moment to bite down on the air around my chest.

  I cry out in pain.

  I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be here, please, please someone save me. Please, please, please, please…I promise I will be a good person, I will give money to the poor, I will always help people in need… Please, I don’t want to die, please, please, please, please…

  I’m praying nonstop in my head.

  Muninn bites Manuchar’s neck-centre… One more bite and my friend is gone…

  I push against the ropes with all my might. I wish my magical power was super strength… I would have broken free from this stupid rope and saved Manuchar and myself from this terrible fate.

  Huginn bites down around my neck.

  At the same time, Muninn opens its mouth, ready to finish Desolation on Manuchar.

  “Someone save us please… PLEASE!” I cry out.

  Something heavy crashes into the door. Everyone turns their head towards the sound, including the wolves.

  The crash comes again. Once… twice… three times… The door creaks ominously.

  “Baia, move!” I shout at the singer. She jumps away just in time. The door comes crashing down and behind it a familiar face shines through.

  Beso wastes no time, he throws several the Revelation Bombs in the room. They blow up, filling the whole room with smoke.

  Demetrikus, Gajo and Baia start to cough.

  So, apparently, Beso’s power is super strength.

  I’m so jealous.

  “Beso, you piece of shit, I’m so glad to see you!” I yell at him.

  While everyone’s distracted, Salome’s silhouette sneaks into the room, clutching a long knife in her hand.

  Smoke dissipates a little and I’m met with a terrible sight. I thought we were saved, but I was celebrating too early.

  Gajo has captured Beso and has a small, rectangle weapon pressed to his head.

  “Girl, drop the knife.” Demetrikus gets up from the floor. Beso and his sister look terrified of Demetrikus and his creepy smile.

  Salome’s knife clanks to the floor.

  “This is your backup?” Demetrikus turns to me. “Two kids with stupid bombs that make us cough for two seconds? We are not wearing masks, so it didn’t burn anything off. It only set off my allergies…” He coughs again. “Anyway, Gajo, I know we’re not allowed to kill, but maybe just this once we could shoot the fatty…”

  “No!” Screams Salome.

  Beso closes his eyes, accepting his fate.

  I lean forward and feel a hot stream of anger rise up in my body, traveling up my spine like a snake made of electricity. I feel a strange connection with it, as if it is begging me to direct it somewhere.

  “As you say, sir…” Gajo doesn’t seem too enthusiastic, but his finger slides towards the green button.

  The pure rage that’s been building up in my chest finally explodes out of my shoulderblades, cutting the ropes in half.

  I see a peculiar sight… two long, half-transparent tentacles shoot out of my back and zoom forward at lightning speed, piercing Gajo’s forehead.

  The giant Reptilian shudders and drops the weapon. Then, after what seems like eternity, he looks at me with a blank stare, his eyes roll up, and he collapses onto the floor.

  His weapon silently skids away from him.

  I order the tentacles to retreat. They obey me, slither out of Gajo’s head and hang high above me, waiting for my next command.

  Beso grabs the weapon and puts as much distance between him and Gajo as possible.

  Gajo starts having a full-body seizure. He doesn’t have a visible wound but I definitely did serious damage to him.

  The wolves howl out in fear and run under the dressing table, far away from me.

  Gajo, after several long seconds, finally stops thrashing around and goes still.

  The room is so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

  I catch a glimpse of Baia, complete confusion written on her face, and finally, I look over at Demetrikus and see terror appear in his inhuman eyes.

  He tries to get up from the floor and run towards the window.

  A wide smile spreads across my face.

  “Oh?.. Leaving already?!" I ask him.

  “No, I just… Fascinating power you have there, kiddo. I’m so impressed!” He mumbles.

  “You don’t want to experiment on me anymore?”

  “Me? No, no, no. It’s ok.” Demetrikus sneaks his hand towards the Spirit Machine, trying to discreetly take my blood sample with him.

  My left tentacle shoots out and slaps the cup away from his hand. It shatters on the floor and all the blood spills out.

  “Ok, have it, I don’t need it! Good luck with everything.” He hastily bows to us and climbs on the windowsill.

  I can’t get up, I’m paralyzed below my neck, but I don’t care. I finally unlocked one more power I always hoped I had.

  Strength.

  I’m not exactly sure how the tentacles work, so I direct the left tentacle towards Demetrikus’s legs with my mind. My new limb shoots out and slices through his thighs.

  He cries out in pain and stumbles to the floor.

  I realize that my tentacles can do similar damage to what Huginn and Muninn do with their teeth. I’m destroying his astral body, so he can’t move his physical counterparts now.

  I cut through his hands. Demetrikus cries out in shock and pain.

  “Yes, be afraid!” I scream at him. “I will wipe out Reptilians even if it costs me my life! Remember this day when you doomed your entire kind! I will kill you all! This is personal now! I won’t rest until you’re all dead, hear me?!”

  Demetrikus starts shaking like a leaf. He heaves himself up with his remaining working limb and falls out of the window.

  “I guess the trash took itself out.” I mumble to myself, slump to the floor and look around the room. “Do you think he will live?”

  “Well, they have very resilient bodies. They have experimented with their own DNA for several millenia, after all.” Says Salome. “I don’t think he’ll be able to walk for a while, though.”

  Her and Beso are staring at me as if I have just sprouted tentacles from my back and wounded a Reptilian lieutenant and saved their lives.

  Oh, wait, I really did that.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like I’m the monster?! He had us tied and tortured…” I start defending myself.

  Beso and Salome share a glance and their faces split into wide smiles.

  “Are you kidding me?! You’re a hero!” Beso excitedly grabs his hair and pulls at it.

  “Nia, what the hell are those?!” Salome whispers.

  I order my new, magically materialized limbs to come into my line of vision.

  Two long, semi-transparent tentacles (sorry, I don’t know what else to call them) appear in front of my eyes, they are hovering above my head, waiting for the next order.

  “Uh, I grew them from my back.” I say in a small voice.

  “Good job!” Beso waves a fist in the air. “That’s the coolest power I’ve ever heard of!”

  “Me too.” Salome shakes her head in disbelief. “It’s insane! How did you know you could do that?!”

  “I didn’t! They just burst out! I thought we were goners, but then this happened! I’m so happy…” I feel fresh tears forming in my eyes. The relief is immeasurable.

  I’m going home! I won’t be chained in Demetrikus’s lab! I won’t have my mind erased!

  I order the tentacles to retreat. My new energy-limbs unwillingly obey, sliding back into my shoulderblades with a sizzling sound. I feel like they want to do more damage, but they can’t defy my orders.

  Beso and Salome are trying to wake Manuchar up. Seeing that he’s still unconscious is seriously worrying me.

  At least he’s breathing…

  The wolves suddenly whine in unison from under the table.

  Since I can’t move my body, I crane my neck towards them. Huginn and Muninn look terrified. They cuddle closer to each other, shivering in the shadows.

  “Hey, it’s alright!” I call out to them. “You hurt me, but I’m not going to hurt you back, okay? Because I’m a better person than you two! So stop shivering and calm down!”

  Baia steps out from behind the wardrobe, where she's been hiding since Beso threw the bombs.

  Beso jumps up, grabs Salome’s knife from the floor and takes a step toward her.

  “No! Don’t hurt her! She’s alright!” I shout at Beso.

  Beso stops. His expression moves through anger, surprise and relief in seconds - he won’t have to harm Baia after all.

  “Well, if it’s true, you can leave. I’m no monster, unlike your kind…” A smile suddenly lights up his face. “Also, gosh, I loved the concert so much! It’s a pity it had to be cut so short. You’re my favorite musician!”

  Baia smiles back at Beso, rapidly blinking away her tears.

  “At what point did you finally decide to look at your god-damned phone, Beso?” I say with resentment.

  I am lying on my side at an awkward angle and can only move my head, so I’m sure I am a hilarious sight to look at but I don’t care, I need an explanation from him on why he ditched us.

  Beso covers his face with his hands and groans out loudly.

  “I’m SO sorry! I swear to god I have a reason! I will explain everything later, after we get you kids to the hospital wing. We need Sister Maro. Salome, call her, tell her it’s urgent.”

  Salome takes out her phone and makes a call. It’s a little hard to listen to the full conversation, my ears are buzzing and I feel nauseous.

  She asks Sister Maro to rush to the order’s hospital wing as fast as she can, because she’ll be bringing some patients in critical condition. Salome ends the call and walks over to Manuchar, checking on him again.

  “At least he’s breathing…” Salome tells us. “I’m sorry for being late too, Nia. I immediately tried to sneak back into the venue when Father Seraphim called us, saying you were in trouble.”

  “You have nothing to apologise for, Salome. Thank you for coming.” I assure her.

  Baia, the now ex-singer, comes into my line of vision. She has her Reptilian face covered with a scarf.

  She bends down and puts her hand on my shoulder.

  “Thank you, Nia. Thank you everyone… and I’m very sorry… hope you can forgive me someday.” She bows down to us and then steps out of the window, jumping into the cold night.

  “Where is she going?” I ask.

  “To the mothership.” Says Beso with a shrug.

  Salome comes over to me and tries to arrange my body in a more comfortable position.

  “Is Manuchar really going to be okay?” I ask them.

  “Let’s hope so.” Says Salome with a sigh.

  “What’s gonna happen with that guy over there?” I motion to Gajo the giant, sprawled out on the floor. “Demetrikus just left him here.”

  “Father Seraphim will think of something. Maybe we can use him as a bargaining chip at some point.”

  “Demetrikus said he has humans chained in his apartment and is experimenting on them. Maybe we could exchange Gajo for those humans? But I don’t think Demetrikus cares much about Gajo.”

  It hurts to move my head. I bite my lip and slowly turn my gaze to my right, toward the broken window. The UFO is gone and I can see a patch of ominous dark sky looming over our beloved Earth. Humans have no idea what kind of secrets are hidden there. The enemy is waiting, observing, scheming on our downfall.

  But I know.

  Salome finishes her second call on the phone. “Thank God, Jimsher finally picked up, his men are on their way, they will clean up this mess and keep us out of the tabloids. Father Seraphim is already in the building, he’s coming up the stairs.”

  The world suddenly grows dim around me.

  “Save Manuchar.” I mumble.

  My head rolls back and I lose consciousness.