Pratiksha’s face stared, slack and vacant. Her other face bent into grotesque masks of emotion, which snapped back into place whenever they deviated too far and became impossible.


    Rhode laid his hand on the glass and rubbed away a smudge. <<Sorry. I probably sound a little paranoid,>> he apologized.


    <<It’s fine. That makes sense. Don’t trust the monsters,>> Pratiksha replied.


    <<I’m not trying to be one of those guys, you know. Believe nothing! Doubt everything! Everything’s a conspiracy! I mean, that’s no way to live and you’ll drive yourself crazy. All I’m saying is…>>


    He sighed.


    <<You’re just probably going to have to police everything you say or do from now on because someone is always, and I mean always watching you and – dang it.>> He ran his hand roughly over his scalp in irritation. <<That sounds just as bad.>>


    <<Isn’t that normal?>>


    <<Sorry?>>


    <<I know you Americans always think you can say everything that’s on your mind. But regular people don’t live like that. It’s normal to be careful all the time. You have to be.>>


    <<Sure,>> Rhode frowned, <<I guess? But I mean for real. For serious.>>


    <<So do I. So am I.>>


    <<I… I guess sure. You could say that society itself is a continual and competitive tension between personal autonomy and like, collective mutual self-regulation.>>


    Pratiksha bared her teeth in a flash of anger. <<Talk the way they tell you to talk. Dress the way they tell you to dress. You’re too cold. You’re too friendly. It’s never good enough.>>


    <<Yea. Alright. I feel you. I get the sense we’re cutting deep into some unresolved stuff right now. And maybe sometime if you want to get stoned and talk about the social contract or the intra-communal behavioral tethers of commonwealth or whatever, I’m happy to do that. Just like, for now here’s what’s up. If a little legless orphan child asks you to make a list of your top ten biggest fears, don’t do it. Because they’re absolutely gonna hand it to a vampire. Like, right after.>>


    Pratiksha blinked in confusion, and she mouthed out words until she pieced out Rhode’s meaning. A drop of blood pattered to the ground and echoed. A door slammed in the distance. The faint sound of shouting voices filtered through the intervening rooms.


    <<Will you let me take a look?>> he asked.


    She stared at him blankly.


    <<At your – your arm, doesn’t it hurt?>>


    Pratiksha looked over her own arm, as if surprised. <<I don’t feel anything. Not directly. I know it hurts. I can tell. But it feels like it’s happening to someone else.>> She raised her eyes. <<Don’t you hurt?>>


    Rhode realized she was looking at his shirt. Crusted blood and sweat made it near impossible to guess that it had been white.


    <<Oh this? Don’t worry about me. It’s worse than it looks. But I’m okay. This here is one rugged chassis, let me tell you h’what. >>


    Pratiksha shut her eyes and her fingernails swiped over the glass in nervous, rubbery squeaks. <<Are they really people?>> her voice cracked.


    <<Yea. Most of them are actually pretty okay. They just get carried away. Seriously, though. I can get a bandage from the other room. At least let’s get some pressure on it.>>


    <<What do they sound like?>>


    <<What do you mean? The goblins?>>


    <<Sorry. I don’t mean how do they sound. I mean what do they talk like?>>


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Rhode thought about it. He leaned against the glass for a heartbeat, but a long crack pinged an uneven line across the surface. He pulled away with a start.


    <<Uh,>> he considered, <<I guess most of the time they’re almost normal? I mean, their culture is weird and super stratified. And uh, magic is real. So every so often they just casually drop something in conversation that shakes the foundations of what you believe is possible. But there are days you can almost forget. And they’re really smart too. I probably shouldn’t say: more than you’d expect, but yea that’s how I feel. At the same time, there’s something obsessive and a little unstable about them. I guess manic?>> He shrugged.


    <<I don’t understand. I want to know, are they good monsters, or are they bad?>>


    <<Man. I don’t know how to make that call. I try not to judge. I’m not perfect. Let’s leave it at this: I don’t pretend they’re safe.>>


    <<I think I killed three of them.>>


    <<No, listen. You don’t know that. We’re gonna get Tinc to a doctor. Don’t count him out yet, you don’t have to do that to yourself.>>


    The Third raised her arm behind her and then let it fall. <<No there’s…>>


    Rhode’s eyes darted from room to room, searching out any signs of a figure. <<Ah. There was someone else. Okay. Listen, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know.>>


    <<They were chasing me,>> Pratiksha insisted.


    Rhode stepped further towards her. <<You’re right. They were chasing you. They’re professional killers working for a scary, manipulative shadow organization who basically kidnapped your soul with full-on psycho black magic and wants to take control of your life.>>


    The Third hero snorted. She wiped at her face and smeared a dribble of snot onto her makeshift clothes. <<Oh. Only that?>>


    <<Yea we can handle that, right? No big deal.>> Rhode replied. <<But for real, as awesome as it is to meet you, and as glad as I am that we’re connecting, this might be the only chance we get to talk.>>


    <<I –>>


    <<Just – I don’t want to cut you off. But there’s a lot going on, and I’ve got to go fast to cover everything.>>


    <<Now? Shouldn’t we go somewhere?>>


    <<Number one: when someone tells you they’re going to give you magic powers, you need to be proactive about it. Don’t let them choose for you, because their choices are awful. And I don’t mean boring, I mean painful and degrading. They’ve got books for you to pick from. Study them. Ask about it.>>


    <<What?>>


    <<Two, I guess. Uh, there’s another one of us. His name’s Ed. He’s… I didn’t make a great first impression. Try to talk some sense into him if you ever meet him.>>


    <<Ed.>>


    <<Ignacio Edilberto Asterio Santos. He’s another uh, giant monster with a human being inside, which – that’s something you should know. The goblins are going to keep trying to make more of us.>>


    <<They can’t do that.>>


    <<I mean, who’s going to stop them?>> Rhode chuckled. He soured. <<I mean, us. Maybe. I’m not sure I’ve got the stomach for it though. Is that something you feel strongly about?>>


    <<I…>>


    <<You’re right. That’s a pretty extreme commitment on very short notice. I guess maybe if I knew where the nuclear power core was, maybe we could steal it, but that seems… I don’t know. Unfeasible. Which reminds me: never ever ever speak to anyone about this conversation. Ever again. And I mean to no one. Please. Not a word. Not even to Ed.>>


    Pratiksha’s vacant eyes stared at him. <<This is a lot to remember.>>


    <<Yea.>>


    <<But –>>


    <<For goodness sake! Come here,>> Rhode cried in exasperation. <<You’re going to pass out. Let me just wrap that up. We can rip of some of that blanket.>>


    <<It’s not clean. Don’t touch me.>> Pratiksha pushed Rhode away. <<How much trouble are we in?>>


    <<At least put some pressure on it. Honestly? I don’t know. A huge amount? You’re better off than me. You’ve got a fresh start, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes so far. Especially tonight. I mean, I’ve really messed up.>> He turned his face upwards to avoid meeting her eyes. <<Let’s see, what else? I know the country is a feudal monarchy. We’re in a palace somewhere in the southern territory, and it’s in the middle of a jungle. The guy in charge here is a prince. But not THE prince. I’m not even sure if he’s important. I think somebody told me he’s like, fourth in line of succession. Maybe third. There are some questions they just won’t answer. So I don’t know much about other countries. But this one is… I’ve tried to talk to folks, and figure out where they’re from and – I think that Sacred might be really big. Bigger than you might think at first. Bigger than I’m even guessing now. What else? What else…>>


    The skylight above them had been collecting debris for years. Rotted leaves and twigs piled around the edges, and bird droppings speckled the middle pane. Still, a hint of tropical sunshine burrowed through it. Rhode felt dawn on his face and it wasn’t warm enough.


    “Rhode?” Bt□obhan choked.


    The homunculus flinched. <<God… darn it,>> he said.