Buck pushed open the doors of the task-force headquarters, leaning heavily on Spotty for support. Pain pulsed with every step. He’d left the hospital against medical advice, driven forward by one thing: answers.

  Fire Lieutenant Yanni Chorus was in mid-tirade with a tired looking Lieutenant Zywrath as they entered.

  "We are not equipped to deal with this! We're already dealing with one arson suspect and this lunkhead." Yanni smacked Rovert Trinity with the back of her hand against his bandaged shoulder. The dalmatian was sitting on the floor, his body dotted with gauze and cooling strips. "Now we have a shell shocked teenager? We're not a hospital! How many more—" She froze at the sight of Buck’s sling and bandaged face. And Spotty. "Spotty… what did you do?"

  "Hey sis," Spotty muttered sheepishly.

  Yanni threw up her hands and stormed down the corridor. "Fine. I'll find another cot," she grumbled.

  Krouri stepped out of a back room and stopped short. "Buck? What are you—did you escape the hospital?"

  "Where’s Sparks?" Buck asked, ignoring the question.

  Spotty shouldered past. "And where’s Illani? Why isn’t she answering her calls?"

  Krouri tensed, eyes flickering a faint green. "Back here. Interesting medallion you’re wearing."

  Spotty’s own eyes flared white. "Interesting legacy you carry, princess. Where is my friend—and what did you do to her?"

  Krouri crossed her arms. "I told her the truth about-"

  "You know NOTHING about the Truth!" Spotty snapped.

  "You're being manipulated by Chaos, just like Illani."

  "Is that what it told you?"

  Krouri smiled with smug confidence. "I've bonded with Order. It showed me what was needed to maintain balance in the city. Chaos is the reason for all these recent events."

  Spotty clapped a hand over her mouth in disbelief. "Gods above. You have no idea what an Eidolon is. This explains a lot. I know your legacy, Kukri. What you and your family, your grandfather, did to this city."

  The cockatiel's plumage puffed in anger. Power flashed between them—white and green, an invisible current crackling across the air. Buck stepped forward to intervene but the moment passed as fast as it came. Spotty turned away. "Same as it's always been. Always an uphill battle," she muttered, and disappeared into the back.

  Buck stared. "What the hell was that about?"

  "A disagreement," Krouri said coldly. "Come on."

  Illani lay on a cot, staring at the ceiling with haunted eyes. Hazelnut sat beside her, whispering comfort. Spotty knelt over the raven, examining her tarnished medallion and uttering soft and soothing words. "I'm so sorry, dear. I told you it may be too great a burden."

  Buck approached Sparks' holding cell, a wry smile twitching across the uninjured side of his face. "Well well, isn't this a pleasant sight? The notorious Crimson Lotus, finally behind bars."

  Sparks glared. "Says the rat who looks like he head-butted a grenade. I'm surprised you can enjoy it considering you weren't the one to put me here."

  "Sounds like I owe the captain a beer," Buck pressed against the bars. "More importantly, where's Kindling?" Sparks held out his hand and the small two-tailed fire kitten crawled from his pocket—smaller, scorched, but alive. Buck exhaled. "Good. Victor didn’t get him."

  "I wouldn't say that," Sparks replied. Kindling spun in a circle, trying to lick at a small but ugly scorch mark on its flank. "Victor shot him with a powerful weapon. A runed revolver, firing strange bullets with a purple trail. It actually hurt him."

  From the cot, Illani suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes shut tight. "That which is above all," she whispered, voice strange and distant. "A power that should not be wielded, yet exists to be had by mortals. That which is and is not Truth." Hazelnut gently eased her back. Spotty offered a worried look but kept silent.

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  "Could Victor have bonded with the Eidolon of Lies?" Sparks asked.

  Spotty shook her head. "No, lies are only untruth. This is something else," She rubbed at the tarnished medallion in her hand. "An unknown. By definition, neither true nor false."

  Buck’s gaze sharpened. The mental murder board in his head shifted into a new configuration. "This is about Kindling," he muttered. "Victor’s trying to take it."

  Spotty turned toward him. "Then talk to Professor Nooraym at the university. He’s the leading scholar on Eidolons—and my mentor. If anyone can help understand what’s happening, it’s him."

  Krouri frowned. "You’re one of the radio voices. Your last broadcast. Your 'reporter on the scene'. Both of you wearing lighthouse medallions. Not very hard to deduce."

  "Ask your questions or make your lies but spit it out," Spotty challenged.

  "I'm not the one making lies here."

  "That's all you make. You are a servant of the Eidolon of Deception." The statement was bold and declarative. Krouri's eyes lost their green glow and she recoiled as though struck. Spotty addressed the others. "If the rest of you have any questions, ask them now because I need to go. I need to try to repair any damage done to Illani."

  Sparks raised a paw. "Let's start at the bottom then. What is an Eidolon?"

  "An Eidolon is the embodiment of a mortal concept given magical and living essence. Their specific origin is unknown but we're fairly certain it's tied to the birth of the universe."

  Hazelnut was next. "How do they pick you?"

  "They choose mortals based on a particular affinity you possess for their concept. Lighthouse Beacon has been tapping into one for a while now. Myself and my partners are committed to bringing the Truth to light." She looked down at Illani with pity. "Unfortunately that does not come without risk. Every Eidolon bond has some cost and Truth is particularly fragile."

  "Why the sudden surge of them? Why are we seeing more activity about them now?" Buck inquired.

  "No idea. I'm sure the professor would lay it all out for you but it involves non-linear time and a lot of quantum math. It's usually tied to a specific event."

  "Aethercorp," Sparks said. Spotty nodded.

  "Whatever happened there affected a weak point in the fabric of conceptual reality. With more and more people bonding to Eidolons, there's bound to be ripple effects."

  "What happens if you reject the bond?" Hazelnut asked, a tremor of fear in her question.

  Spotty considered that for a moment. "Well, unless they are a concept that thrives on persistence, they won't form a bond if rejected. They don't need a bond to exist and if they are turned away, they'll simply look for another aligned with their individual identity. What did you reject?"

  "Loneliness."

  "Oof. Yeah, I would have rejected that one too."

  Sparks looked down at Kindling. It returned the gaze, a brave smile on the kitten’s face. "So Kindling isn't the Eidolon of Fire?" he asked.

  Spotty shook her head. "No. Eidolons of primal elements theoretically exist but they would be too vast to tap into entirely. Kindling is the Eidolon of Creativity. The first and only Eidolon capable of existing on the prime material plane. After Aethercorp, what was once a disparate, almost ethereal magical presence is now very significant and very real. The question is, who benefits the most from these Eidolons being released?"

  "Feng was talking about new information coming to light after our last, er, ‘tour’." Sparks recalled.

  "I still have his card from that meeting," Hazelnut offered. "Maybe I can arrange a meet up with him?"

  "Uh, not to put too fine a point on it, but he's currently in jail?" Spotty remarked, pointing at Sparks.

  "Meh, I'll get over it." Sparks shrugged and leaned back with his arms cradling the back of his head.

  Spotty attempted to excuse herself but was stopped at the door by an irritated Yanni. "You have some explaining to do, missy." The older sister dragged the younger away by her ear, yelping painful excuses along the way.

  Captain Trinity entered as they left. "Whoof, wouldn't want to be her right now." He froze when he saw Buck, looking practically heartbroken. "Oh my. You've been burned really badly. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there. I would have helped had I known."

  "I’m fine." Buck lied. "You might have taken it worse than me. Save your strength for Fixer."

  Trinity stepped closer and laid a paw over Buck’s bandaged face. A gentle, soothing warmth radiated through his wounds—healing magic, slow but real. His braced arm relaxed as the pain subsided. He felt the bandages on his face start to loosen. "I'm sorry I can't do more. Your scarring will need a specialist to fix. I can get you some info on cosmetic surgery or necro growth treatments. There are even some disfigurement therapy groups I can recommend."

  The bandages fell from face and jaw to reveal raw, exposed bone and muscle. The room gasped at the sight. Buck studied a mirror Hazelnut shakily offered him

  The lower right side of his face had been damaged beyond healing. The skin and muscle had been removed, leaving his teeth and lower jawline completely exposed. His lip curled nastily around the gap. A permanent sneer.

  "No. I'll leave it." Buck said flatly, continuing to examine the wound. "I want this to be the last thing Pazienza sees before I put a bullet between his eyes."

  Another phone rang. Krouri's. She answered—and immediately tensed. "It’s my mother. She wants me back at the Dispatch. Right now…and alone."

  Buck nodded to the others. "We’ll go with you. They can’t separate us now."

  Sparks rose in his cell. "In that case, I’d like to formally offer my services. On a probationary–"

  Zywrath had entered at that moment, rubbing his temple with one hand and holding a key in the other. "Gods help me… Fine. Further injustice must be prevented."

  He opened the cell—and clipped a glowing cuff around Sparks’ wrist.

  Sparks scowled. "Really? What happened to preventing injustices?

  Zywrath raised his own wrist—wearing a matching cuff. "Trace-dimensional shackles. You teleport, I go with you. Now come on."

  He gestured toward the exit. "Let us find some answers of our own."