“You attract the most unfortunate attention,” Lustrum said dryly as I stared at the floor of her cell. “So, tea with the Fairy Queen, hm?”

  “I think we can trust her word,” I said. “If she wanted to hurt me, she would just walk in here and do it, damn the consequences. Maybe she just wants to see if the new girl has something special?”

  “See, that’s what worries me,” she said, pointing a finger. “There isn’t anything special about you, not that I can see. But crazy as she is, she does know stuff about parahumans no one else does.”

  “Well she can’t touch me,” I said with a shrug. “I’m...kind of curious, I can’t deny. Scared, yes, but I want to know why she’s interested as much as you do.” What did she mean about a ‘long shadow’? I really wanted to know, as much as it made my skin crawl.

  “I can’t stop you from doing stupid things,” Lustrum said with a sigh. “You’re a stubborn little mutt.”

  “I’ve been called worse,” I replied. “Look, if I don’t go then she might decide to come here instead. That’s probably worse for everyone than just me visiting, right?”

  “Just be damned careful, would you?” she said. “I’d rather not have a kid’s blood on my hands.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, rising and giving her a nod. “You won’t have to.”

  I left her cell and headed back to mine, feeling like there was a weight pressing on my shoulders. There was no small part of me that wanted to avoid this meeting like the plague. Sure my memory was spotty, but everything I remembered about Glaistig Uaine told me this was an awful idea. She wasn’t magic, but she had insight into passengers that I had no hope of finding elsewhere. If I ever wanted to understand what was going on with me…

  The idea filled me with trepidation and bone-deep dread. What would she need to do to get the answers she wanted? If I died that wasn’t the end of the world, I could simply come back and avoid tea. Well...probably. Unless her power ripped me out of my body and enslaved me to her for eternity as a ghost.

  That wasn’t likely. Passengers were many things; assholes, parasites, and the bane of humankind, but they weren’t magic. My power wasn’t attached to my ‘soul’, if there was anything like that in my body. There were a couple glands in my brain, plus whatever mess Amy had described to me. Nothing metaphysical, just stuff that may as well be for my understanding of the world.

  I sighed and grabbed my newly acquired book from under my bed, flopping down on the mattress and opening it. There was no way this would be worth it, but I had to make the best of what my decisions brought me. At least Dragon had listened to me, for some reason. She had no reason to, given what I’d put the Protectorate through, but I wasn’t complaining.

  Three pages and thirty minutes into the book, practicing as I went, Paroxysm joined me on my bed. She lay next to me quietly, not saying a word as I kept going. I shifted slightly to make some room for her, then snuggled against her when she was comfortable. I felt a little self-conscious, trying to contort my hands into the letters on the page, but I felt it was important enough to keep going.

  “Sign language huh?” Paroxysm said a few minutes after joining me. “Why?”

  “It’s handy,” I said, chuckling as she grimaced. “No pun intended. I just mean, like, it’s a useful skill.”

  “Pretty sure no one down here is deaf,” she said dryly. “Are you going deaf?”

  “Not as far as I know,” I said, shrugging. “But...okay, don’t tell anyone, but part of my training was staying as quiet as possible. Crane also told me to talk as little as I could. This is my way of getting around that.”

  “Not a bad idea, actually,” she said. “You know the way you talked about her, I didn’t figure you’d be trying to go around her back like this.”

  “It’s not going around her back,” I countered. “It’s following the letter of the law. I’m good at that sort of thing, when I want to be.”

  “Right, you were a Ward,” Paroxysm said, nodding.

  “Only for a few months,” I said. “But yeah, I figured out pretty quick how to pay lip service and at least follow orders well enough to not get punished.” When I bothered following them anyway.

  “And yet, you got kicked out.”

  “Sort of,” I said, waggling my hand. “Technically I quit, though if I’d stayed in I wouldn’t have been doing actual hero work, at least not the stuff that needed to be done.”

  “What was it like?” she asked. “They tried to sell me on a year in a solitary supermax cell and then probation in the Wards. You think it would have been worth it?”

  “Don’t know,” I said honestly. “The beds are about as good, so you wouldn’t be sleeping better.” We shared a laugh, and she pressed her lips to my forehead. “You’d probably have been fine, but you wouldn’t have liked it too much. I got forced into therapy, which was just as fun as you’d think. The other Wards were okay though, and the job was easy enough. They fed me, housed me, and paid me too so…” I shrugged as I trailed off, throat tightening. I missed my friends…

  “Sounds like a decent deal,” Paroxysm said. “Then again, I wouldn’t have met you if I didn’t wind up down here.”

  “Yeah you can’t tell me with a straight face that was worth it,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “Maybe not,” she agreed. “But, I don’t know, it’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me.”

  “No, no I guess not.” Both of us had powers after all, and Paroxysm got hers in Heartbreaker’s den. “I’d rather be out there now, but it won’t be too long I guess.”

  “What do you mean?” I clicked my tongue, annoyed I’d let that slip.

  “Just…” I bit my lip, then sighed and lowered my voice. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone about this, okay? Promise me.”

  “You’re serious,” Paroxysm hissed, eyes widening. “You’re getting out of here? How?”

  “Promise.”

  “Fine,” she sighed. “So what is it?” I swallowed and licked my lips.

  “In about a year, Jack Slash is going to cause the end of the world.” I winced as her already pale face turned practically grey. “Yeah, I know. But the good news is the heroes let us out to help stop it, and we do stop it.” With me around, hopefully we could do better than just barely scraping by.

  “How do you know all this?” Paroxysm demanded.

  “My power,” I said, tapping my forehead. “It’s not just my projection, I also got...let’s call it precognition for lack of a better term. I remember certain things that are going to happen, or already have in some cases. That’s...you remember I told you about the Slaughterhouse Nine, about Amy?”

  “Yeah, your ex,” she said, nodding. “You both got nominated right?”

  “We did,” I confirmed. “But if I hadn’t stuck my nose in, I wouldn’t have got nominated and she would have ended up here instead.”

  “You switched places?”

  “Well, I certainly didn’t intend to wind up here,” I said dryly. “But yeah, I guess so. Who knows, maybe you two would have wound up together.” I said it sarcastically, but frowned. There was some deep-seated part of me that didn’t like that…

  “Mm, who can say,” Paroxysm said almost wistfully. “So you stuck your nose in to keep her out of here?”

  “Well, to stop her from doing the thing that got her in here,” I clarified. “And it worked too. So I know what’s coming, and I know freedom is just a year and an apocalypse away.”

  “You don’t sound afraid,” she said, sounding confused.

  “Oh I’m terrified,” I said, holding up a shaking hand. “But the only thing I can do is get ready to try and stop it. That’s why I trained with Crane, to try and stop things before it starts. If I can take down Jack Slash with her martial arts, then we avert everything that’s coming.”

  “You really think you can do that?”

  “If not I won’t be around to see the results,” I said simply. I may have trusted Paroxysm with the end of the world, but not the other thing that came with my hated memories. Some things didn’t bear mentioning. “I think I stand a better chance than anyone else at least, if only because I’ve been getting prepared mentally since I remembered it; and now physically too. As long as the heroes listen, and I know they will, we stand a good chance.” I offered her a small smile. “So let me worry about it, okay? I’m going to do everything I can.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Well…” Paroxysm took a deep breath. “Fuck. I...kind of wish you hadn’t told me.”

  “Sorry,” I winced. “I didn’t mean to say anything, it just...slipped out. I guess now you know why I’m not worried about being down here. It’s all small potatoes, relatively speaking.”

  “Yeah,” she whispered.

  I nuzzled against her and shut my book. Hopefully I could help her focus on our time here instead of what awaited us in the future…

  My walk to Glaistig Uaine’s cell block was quiet, lonely, and tense. Nobody had opted to come further than the entrance of Block E, certainly not into the belly of the beast. They were smarter than me, no doubts in that. But I had to find out what was going on with this, and the only way to do that was to pay a visit to the faeries.

  At least my brain was leaving me alone. No phantasms crept in the shadows, no voices berated my foolishness, and no spiders tried to impede my walk. I was on high alert, but there didn’t seem to be a need for it. Still, I wasn’t about to let my guard down when I was meeting probably the most dangerous parahuman in here.

  The entrance to the Fairy Queen’s cell block loomed ahead, and it felt like the temperature had dropped by a few degrees. I swore I could see my breath misting in the air, and above it looks like frost was glimmering. I prayed it was just in my head and drew my shoulders up, taking a deep breath and walking through the portal.

  “Welcome,” Glaistig Uaine said, voice echoing around the room with a multitude of whispers. “I am glad to see you upheld the bargain.”

  “I made a promise,” I replied, striding towards her. I stopped a few feet away, hands at my sides. “So, tea?” I saw a smile grow on what I could see of her face.

  “Come with me,” she said, turning around and gliding away.

  I followed after her, scanning the area as we went. I was a little surprised to see other people here. Many of them wore hoods and robes fashioned from the prison uniforms, covering their heads and faces. None of them paid attention to me, going about whatever they did around here. Glaistig Uaine didn’t pay them any mind either, simply striding forward and allowing them to get out of the way.

  The sight ahead made me stumbled out of sheer surprise. While I’d been expecting to have tea, I wasn’t expecting a small gazebo. It had creeping, vibrant red flowers draped around the entrance, and more wreaths of the stuff around the table. Glaistig Uaine sat in an ornate chair that looked like it was made of some kind of tree; but grown into shape, not carved. A shadowy spectre appeared and began pouring tea from a beautiful porcelain pot. I took my own seat, ordinary and mildly uncomfortable, but I should have expected no less from the Fairy Queen.

  “I wasn’t expecting flowers,” I admitted, eyes flicking to the spectre as it began serving me tea.

  “Amaranths,” Glaistig Uaine spoke in her chorus of voices, and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. No need to piss off the fae... “It is an interesting namesake. Did you know these flowers do not wilt? Immortal, in their own way.” I stared at her, sweat pricking at my back. Did she know? No, no there was no way she’d plucked that info from thin air.

  “I wish I was,” I said, fighting to keep my voice level as I tapped the scar on my neck. “But I’m just a human. Parahuman.”

  “The faerie that slumbers in your chest is plain, unassuming,” she said in a way that sounded vaguely insulting. “But the shadow it casts is long and deep, dark as the Unseelie, too dark to see. What hides in your shadow, Amaranth?”

  “I'm not sure what you're talking about,” I replied, narrowing my eyes. “You mean my passenger, right?”

  “An interesting title,” she said, picking up her tea and taking a sip. “I speak of the faerie, yes. Yours is but a peon, a pawn to be used and sacrificed defending the court, but that belies what it stands infore. Though I cannot see into that darkness, I know it is not of this faerie’s court.”

  “Wait, you mean it’s...not my power?” I cocked my head.

  “The shadow you wear like a cloak was not donned by your faerie, it was foisted on it.” I stared into my tea, wondering what that could mean. “What player lurks just offstage, waiting for its cue to join the dance? What part will it play? What cue will bring it onto the stage?” Glaistig Uaine leaned forward, and I couldn’t help pulling away. “Though I would add you to my flock, I wish to see this dance play out.”

  “So you won’t hurt me.”

  “No, I can see you’re quite capable of that.” The smile that peeked out from under her hood sent a chill down my spine. “But I wish to know what you do, for the shadow creeps into your mind, does it not?” I frowned.

  “I...know what you mean when you say ‘the dance’, I think.” It was the end of the world, the intended one, not the one caused by Jack. “But do you mean my...my precognition?” She didn’t say anything. I swallowed hard and stared at the table. “My memories?”

  “What do you remember?”

  “A girl named Taylor,” I said looking up at the Fairy Queen. “Do you want to know her story?”

  Glaistig Uaine smiled.

  “...and so we win, in the end,” I said, raising my teacup and finishing my drink to soothe my sore throat. “But the cost is...it’s just not worth it; and the person behind our victory is dead and gone.”

  “Mm, that is quite the tale,” Glaistig Uaine said, eyes glittering beneath her hood. Her spectral attendant, Wisteria she’d called it, filled my cup with fresh tea. “Where did you say you found it?”

  “Another world,” I said dryly. “I...that’s where my memories are apparently from, another Earth with a story about us. Well, about Taylor. And I didn’t really find it, I just...got the memories with my powers.”

  “A call beyond,” she said, leaning back. “When the faeries awaken for the first time, they call out to their kin. Yours, it seems, called on something else; or something else heard and silenced it before others could answer.”

  “Well that’s terrifyingly vague,” I said. These non-answers were annoying. What did ‘something’ mean? “So it can’t talk to other passengers?”

  “It is adrift,” Glaistig Uaine confirmed. “Lost in that sea of shadows. Whether its cries reached the shores, I cannot say. We shall see when the dance commences.”

  “Great,” I sighed. “Well...thanks for the tea, G— Glaystig Oowane.” She smiled.

  “Not quite,” the Fairy Queen said. “I’m surprised you attempted, I can smell your fear.”

  “You’re a scary woman,” I replied, not bothering to hide it. “You said it yourself, I’m a pawn made to be sacrificed. Besides curiosity, you don’t have a good reason to let me live.”

  “On the contrary,” she said, tapping a finger slowly on the edge of her cup. “You would do well to remember what a pawn can do if it survives. You may go, Amaranth. Thank you for the entertainment, but do not spread your tale too far; it is a dangerous thing.”

  “I’m aware,” I said, rising from my chair and tucking it under the table. I walked to the entrance and offered her a slight bow. “Thank you for the tea, Fairy Queen. Um, may I take some of these flowers?” Her smile grew slightly and she offered a nod.

  “For whom?”

  “A girl I’m involved with,” I replied, cheeks colouring. “I...I don’t think I could really get them elsewhere.”

  “You may,” she said after a moment. “But only so long as you tell them where they came from.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. Paroxysm probably wouldn’t mind… “Thanks again.”

  I didn’t waste anymore of Glaistig Uaine’s time, stepping out of the gazebo and plucking a bunch of the flowers that were my namesake. Would Paroxysm appreciate the joke? Well, she didn’t know the full story of my powers, so probably not. It still made me a little uneasy, like the Fairy Queen somehow knew I could come back if I died. That would have explained why she didn’t kill me as much as the idea of ‘entertainment’.

  What did she mean about a pawn surviving? I wasn’t a chess player, and my other memories weren’t much help either; nothing about chess came to mind easily. Then again, it may have just been nonsense from a woman that didn't understand how my power really worked.

  It didn’t take me long to get back, and as soon as I did I headed to Paroxysm’s cell, bouquet in hand. I got some looks, but it didn’t matter, I was on a mission. Fortunately, she was lounging in bed, reading a book, a romance novel going by the worn cover. I hid the flowers behind my back and strode inside, leaning down and planting a kiss on her forehead.

  “You lived,” Paroxysm said, sounding mildly surprised as she lowered her book.

  “Sure, she loved me,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. “At least enough for a surprise.”

  “A surprise from the Fairy Queen?” I offered her the flowers and she gasped, eyes widening. “Oh my god, where? What? How?”

  “Fae magic,” I said with a shrug. She took them and sniffed the blossoms. “She didn’t let me in on the secret, just told me to tell you she gave them to me. I told you she loved me.”

  “Well maybe not but…” She sniffed the flowers again and smiled. “Thanks Lia.”

  “Welcome,” I said, pecking her cheek and sitting on the bed. “So, what are you reading?”

  I listened to her talk about her book and tried to put the eerie feelings of the tea party behind me.

  “Hold on do that again!”

  “Do what?” I asked Paroxysm, pulling my shirt over my head. She groaned and grabbed the hem, pulling it off again. “Kennedy come on…”

  “Flex.” I sighed and did, getting a warm giggle and a hand on my back. “God damn, you’ve become quite the specimen. How did you manage to gain weight down here when you’re working out all the time?”

  “Because I spend my money on food, not books,” I said with a shrug, putting my shirt back on. That and I’d managed to acquire a certain taste for the mush. It didn’t really taste at all, so I found I could spoon it down rapidly. “Plus I’ve been training for months. It’s not that surprising.”

  “Hon, no offense, but you used to be a twig,” she said, wrapping her arms around my belly and giving me a hug. “I can’t even count your ribs anymore. It’s a change.” I shrugged and held her hands, leaning back against her.

  “A good change,” I said. “Means I’m stronger.”

  “Yeah,” Paroxysm agreed. “Hotter too.” I snorted and shook my head, lifting my hands and signing at her: ‘Flatterer’. “Sorry, never got that interested in your book.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, shaking my head and shrugging off her grip. “Anyway, sorry, you’ve got a client coming right?”

  “No, no, I’m going to them,” she said. “And not for another half-hour. We’ve got plenty of ti—”

  Startled yells echoed outside and we both froze and shared a look. We ran out together, over to the common area where inmates were gathering around the TV. I couldn’t hear what was going on, but shoved my way through the gathering crowd to see. When I finally caught sight of it, my blood froze.

  “Scion,” I whispered.

  It was an image of him rocketing over a snowy city, blasting a lance of golden light that trailed a pillar of fire behind it. That didn’t make sense, it was too soon. There was no fucking way I’d lost a year in here without Paroxysm saying something. The news anchors couldn’t believe it either, one was near hysterical while the other just stared blankly at the image.

  I shoved my way back through the crowd, stomach churning, and ran back to my cell. Pretty soon, portals would open to the Birdcage and we’d be brought out and used as canon fodder in the fight for the planet. A horde of parahumans with a single purpose: survival. But we wouldn’t have the one piece we needed to succeed.

  So I couldn’t let it happen to begin with.

  I tore the mattress from my bed and grabbed the sharp spike of metal I kept as a shiv. It was still stained from the last time I’d used it a month ago, when someone hadn’t wanted to pay Paroxysm. Now though, it was the salvation for the planet. I took a deep breath and moved my projection away from my head, positioning the spike under the soft part of my neck. I swallowed as sweat beaded on my brow, and prayed it wouldn’t hurt as I plunged it up and i