By sunrise, our base of operations had turned into the House of a Thousand Yawns. For hours, Viessa and Veigan drilled Kelfloss with a never-ending series of questions while Garik snored. Ingcaster's most infamous fence withheld nothing, answering in earnest as he sat blindfolded in the very spot Daven Murpharion had died.

  I sat upright in a cheap wooden chair, feigning interest with the occasional head nod. Too many names, gangs, and mid-level organizations came spewing out of Kelfloss's mouth. Tales of human trafficking, smuggling, gambling, and protection rackets blended together into an indistinguishable litany that tested my patience.

  Everyone in their criminal collective paid a whopping 40% tithe to Daven, which was collected on a bi-monthly basis by the Fated Twins. Kelfloss was one of several council members, each representing a division of the collective.

  "With the Fated Twins gone, they will halt their payments immediately... Those two brothers kept it all together."

  I rolled my eyes, knowing the truth. "Cousins..."

  "Please, I just want out. Gifford Fox and Red's Tally crew are on the verge of a war. The Velvet Knives and the Velvet Knives Are Pussies Clan are already at war. Ever since the Nuff Knives changed their name per Velvet's demands, the collective has been on shaky ground," Kelfloss said. "They won't bow to an outsider like you. Especially one that's killed their friends in the Sanguine Syndicate, and Thunder and Fang. The only favor you'll gain is from your actions against the Union."

  Veigan cleared his throat, rattling phlegm in obnoxious excess. "Actions against the Union? Excuse me, Mr. Phantom, when you arrived, we asked you how the operation went and you said, 'Smooth.'"

  "It was smooth. Everyone died like this." I snapped my fingers and Kelfloss jumped against the chair he was bound to.

  "Now we have to worry about their legendary First Unit. The proverbial ghost squad—the ones no one sees coming." Veigan groaned.

  "Oh, come on. Like some cheap invisibility would work. They couldn't even handle the slow pitch I tossed down the middle. The Slaver's Union is a sinking ship. They won't come after us. Not after last night. That'd be like lighting yourself on fire to see better in the dark."

  "And the noble's corpse?" Viessa asked.

  "Some influential shoppers saw pieces of Daven. They also overheard me saying I killed him on the Union's orders. The exchange felt natural enough, so they'll buy it. I'm certain the rumor mill's already turning. No matter the outcome, it'll be a headache for the Slaver's Union.”

  "Good. I hope you're right."

  Viessa held back additional comments. She was probably saving up a full clip to unload on me the next time we were one-on-one.

  Kelfloss released a snotty whimper. "Who are you people?"

  I stood up and towered over the frightened fence. "We're the Cabal. A group of individuals with unfathomable powers and reach. You were right, Kelfloss. The shadows are listening and always watching. The business you ran for Daven will be restructured and repurposed. You will dedicate yourself to this cause or end up in a box. Think of it as atonement for everything you've ever done wrong in life."

  "You don't know me."

  Ledger of Fate.

  Information beamed through my frontal cortex as a long list of bold text appeared beside his status. The instant information cost a noticeable chunk of stamina.

  "You backstabbed your best friend, Gianni. Was he an old partner in crime or something?" I asked.

  "What?"

  "You hired kidnappers to jump you and your date so you could play hero, but you froze and poor Sasha got hurt. Need I go on?”

  His blindfold caught tears, heart thudding like it was on its last sprint.

  "Call the council to an emergency meeting tonight. Have them bring everyone. You can tell them about me and the new order. What you’ve seen. Be direct. Oh, and let them know they can keep the 40% percent tax if they manage to kill me this evening. Hold the meeting where you won’t mind a mess.”

  Kelfloss quivered in his seat. "I'll do as you say. There's an abandoned coliseum in northeast Oarwin that’s usually available for last-minute bookings. If I do this, will you please make it stop? The unrelenting watchful gaze and whispers?"

  "Whispers?" I asked.

  "Yes, please stop them. I'll do as you say."

  "What do the whispers say?"

  The flames from our oil lamps fluttered as a strong breeze swept through the loft, rustling papers and stirring dust.

  "Who left a window open?" Garik asked, his eye still closed, head tipped back against the chair’s headrest.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "No one," Veigan said, his voice heavy.

  All eyes turned to me.

  I gritted my teeth, fighting through a surge of stabbing pains as a whistling only I could hear tore at my eardrums.

  Soon. I'll feed you soon.

  The entity finally relented, and I yawned out of theatrics, trying to cover up the uneasy, unexplained shift in atmosphere. Another sleepless night had passed, and I felt...

  Fine.

  Eh, fine enough for someone harboring an ancient evil of incomprehensible magnitude.

  The same kind of "fine" a man soaked in gasoline insists on before striking the match. Acrid fumes cut through the air. Skin burning, but the fire has yet to be lit.

  "Finish up with him, then cut ‘em loose. He'll need the day to arrange this meeting. We have other matters to tend to."

  ***

  Viessa and I left for the Gilded Boar shortly after I told Garik to drop Kelfloss on a corner away from our base. We moved along an active street teeming with commuters and shopkeepers setting up for the day, keeping to the sidewalks with our hoods drawn low as we slipped into the flow of early risers.

  "You don't think he'll run?" the elf asked.

  "He knows it's pointless."

  "And openly inviting an ambush at tonight's meeting… It seems rushed. The information we got from Kelfloss is excellent. We can use it to split the council apart. Take it division by division."

  "I'm sure your methodical approach would work. But last night's romp only reinforced what I've felt for some time. Nobody with negative karma can stand against me. Once I've introduced myself to the council, I'm sure they'll be happy to pay us the 40%. Focus on the nobles. Like Daven's brother. Bigger fish."

  "Veigan's helped in that regard... Have you slept yet?"

  "No, but I will."

  "Good. Cyprus," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the mouth of an alley. "I have other questions I'm afraid to ask. The seizure you had while channeling Void Seer, has it happened again?”

  "No. But I'm hearing voices outside of the tethers I've set. Which, I'm certain, is no ordinary side-effect. It's like my unwanted guest is listening."

  "Listening?"

  I groaned, weighing the risks and rewards of our unfolding conversation. The idea of dragging the elf any further into this internal mess unsettled me.

  "It hears when people discuss it." I winced at every word, expecting each one to send me into a whirlwind of hurt. "A power capable of wrecking the entire universe's balance is how Jag'thar's advisor described it to me before it consumed them."

  My mouth dried in an instant, and the shadows within the alley lengthened. The elf grabbed my hand and squeezed.

  "Speak on the topic no more. In time, a solution will arrive."

  But I only saw the alley's darkening shade.

  "The hunger went from a buzzing constant to total silence. Great, right? I thought it was finally taking a backseat. That it understood nightly feedings were out of the question. Last night, I tested it by holding it back. Now it's back in jagged bursts, like something thrashing under my ribs.”

  "Please, don't say any more, it's—By Galdir's grace!"

  Viessa nearly jumped out of her skin as Fayador's skeletal head emerged out of the wall between us. The elf stumbled back, heart lodged in her throat.

  "Sorry Ms. Viessa, I didn't intend to startle you."

  "B-b-bastard," she yelped.

  "Your conversation is stirring the stew far too fast." Fayador pointed his snout at my shadow. "Unless you want spatters on the stove, I suggest you reach a higher level, find a healer who specializes in pain management, or commit to a regular feeding schedule."

  My head spun on a swivel, making sure no random passerby saw us speaking to a zombie dog.

  "Worry not, we're cloaked in the shadows. Not a living soul can see or hear us—my specialty," he said.

  "Tell this thing it picked the wrong host if it thinks it can bully me with these hunger pangs."

  "Master, I'm afraid you've misunderstood." Fayador bowed his head. "It's holding back the hunger with everything it has. Otherwise you would've been crushed by it long ago."

  Friend.

  The interloper's voice resonated deep, and I believed it, hook, line, and sinker. Not because of one word, or the genuine intentions behind it. But because it ripped Chaos's fucking leg off.

  "More cannot be said, Master. Even now we tread a tightrope in an infinite vacuum," Fayador said, then vanished back into my shadow without another word.

  Sunlight once again filled the alley, leaving the elf standing dumbfounded.

  "What just happened?"

  "Some much-needed clarification."

  ***

  Viessa remained skeptical of both Fayador and the entity. We agreed to disagree, and our discussion quickly moved onto the Divine Framework and my new quest module. I explained how the module lured me into saving Duskblade, putting me in the right place and time for the dungeon's emergence.

  “Anomaly needs three warm bodies before we can submit our raid plan,” I said, as we rounded the corner onto the street where the Gilded Boar stood.

  A long queue snaked up its wide stone steps.

  "Are they handing out free samples or something?" I muttered.

  Viessa shrugged, and we edged by the line, passing under the golden boar statue at the landing before heading into the hall. Inside, the first floor churned with bodies and noise. Clerks shouted names while runners darted between tables.

  Did another dungeon spawn? An overflow?

  Karma's Gaze spammed my vision with statuses until I cranked the filter up.

  "Thank Galdir, you're here," Kora shouted.

  The freckle-faced attendant motioned us to the front, much to the long line's dismay. People muttered curses under their breath as we passed.

  "Prick."

  "Fucker..."

  "Halt, asshole. Ye shall go no further." A man wearing two eye patches and a mouthful of wooden teeth stepped in front of us. "There's no greater sin than violating the sanctity of an honorable queue. I stand here before you today, as a champion of the common man who—"

  "Body slamming babies," I cut him off, voice booming with a hint of the unhinged sleeplessness in my tone, drawing the entire first floor's attention.

  His wooden teeth clattered together in stunned disbelief. "Excuse me?"

  "In your eyes, body slamming infants isn't a greater sin than cutting in line. Do you know how fucking stupid that sounds?"

  The blind man with wooden teeth wound back his arm with the hatred of a dying sun.

  "Dumb shits! Listen up," Kora shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth. "This is Cyprus and the Silent Healer of Anomaly. The ones you've all been waiting for since before dawn. They will be conducting their interviews in the sparring arena downstairs. Please pass this information along the line."

  The man with wooden teeth's punch softened mid-swing, resolving into a firm handshake and a bow that rivaled Garik's deepest.

  "Uh... Sir, Cyprus, it's a pleasure to meet you. Can we start over? Please, please, please. I need this so bad. You have no idea."

  STUB Info / Book 1 Rewrites (Long behind the scenes post ahead, no release schedule changes or interruptions.)

  I'm changing "chaos shard" to "myth shard." In my infinite wisdom, while I was first drafting this series, I didn't realize how the term "chaos shard" blatantly spoils the twist in CH 111/112. It's obvious in hindsight, but you know the saying where you can't see the forest from the trees? Well, sometimes I feel like my nose is touching bark.

  Book Summaries