September 8th, 2030, 9:49 pm

I propel the glass door to the backyard, forth into the saturated darkness of the night. The only source of brightness comes from a shivering floodlight over the entrance. For an evening in early September, the air beds itself under the hairs of my arm, seeping into the caves of my bones.

I stand in the center of the glow on the grass, awaiting a most hated figure. The moment Craig told me he didn't remember anything from Friday night, I knew that it wasn't his fault. How I didn't pick up on what really happened is beyond me. I understand what it's like to be accused of doing something that I don't recall doing, especially if the same person was behind the whole thing.

The Medo can't comprehend when enough was enough, can they? How many more of my closest friends will have to suffer at the hands of Rodney Roarke until he realizes that I have given all I can give? I have taken his deal, I listened to his bullshit stories, let him give me powers of the Medo, and I have allowed Grayson Irons to stalk me. Plus, Roarke still torments me in my dreams, so much so that I can't sleep on account of the Medo nightmares.

If he hates being in the Medo so much, why must he insist on making my life hell under his control?

Last Wednesday, he almost took the Captain from Celestine and I. I never saw the blade enter Brian's shoulder, but I stood on the splintered platform and watched as his fellow officers swarmed him. For a minute, I believed that I lost him. If Roarke had been careless and killed the Captain, I have no idea where I would go. He would be dead, I would hate the Medo too much to commit to them, and my mom would think I was a murderer again.

But now Roarke has taken advantage of my next ally, Craig. Craig Larsson as an ally seemed inconceivable a month ago, yet I know more about him now than anyone ever has. Roarke has chosen to exploit him with the same methods he used with me, except I don't know which exact methods those are.

A grind of gnashing spits from the darkness that surrounds the small glow on the backyard. A vicious bark rings through the night, digging my feet into the grass and tightening my legs. The sound of metal clashing drowns under the roars of the hidden, shadowy hound.

"Nic, the guards are trying to sleep; you'll wake them. Silence your dog." The leader of the Medo emerges from the dusk, hugged by a brown leather jacket.

His head is turned to a leaping canine, teeth bared at me once entering the light. Its coat is all black, save for a few copper spots around the face and pointed ears. It stands at my belly button with bulky legs and a broad rib cage. Though, when it jumps, it could reach the hairs on top of my head.

The chain leash stretches up to a woman, who grips the cord and yanks. "Petra, sit," she scolds. The dog obeys, but it foams at the mouth at the sight of me.

Roarke acknowledges me, and he retains a neutral composure. No smile, no spark in the eyes. "Slater, do you know why we are here?"

I tuck my hands under my arms. I need to be strong. Brian said I can't let him control me anymore. "I get the idea."

"No, I don't think you do," he derides. "We last spoke on Friday, and since then, I believe you have become quite the character. Falling in love with your former rival, crying to your new family about your problems, showing your powers to members of the Imperial Guard, and confronting your aforementioned lover and realizing your worst fear has returned. It's been interesting to watch, but I can't say that I'm pleased."

"Well, instead of dancing around what you want to say, just say it." I free my hands and drop them by my hips. "I'm just trying to live my shitty life here, so excuse me if I don't please you."

Roarke blinks; his eyes of steel gleaming in the light. "Having an attitude will get you nowhere." He draws toward me. "There is so much you don't know, and your lack of cooperation forces me to hesitate. I can give you the truth, Slater, everything you ever wanted, if you would just listen."

"I'll listen if you tell me what the fuck you did to Craig Larsson," I demand. "And me."

"Very well," Roarke accepts, panning to the woman. "Slater, I would like you to meet Nicolette Binet. She holds the same power as Grayson in the Medo. One of the abilities of my people at this stage is internal possession. I ordered Miss Binet to take control of Sergeant Larsson on Friday afternoon."

Nicolette coils the chain around her wrist. "I took control of Craig before he drove to your house. Everything that you saw him doing was part of me as well. Once he returned home on Saturday morning, I allowed him to awaken as himself."

"But you were different, Slater," Roarke follows. "It began as a small operation, but once you killed your first victim, we realized there was no turning back. We just wanted to get the attention of the Imperial Guard using you as a victim. You were too resistant, which made it hard for Grayson to keep strong control over you. That's why you could see what you were doing at some points. You weren't controlling yourself; you were merely observing."

"Grayson is also young. You gave him a task he couldn't handle with his amount of experience." Nicolette asserts herself, inspecting her hound. Petra yawns.

I stand firm, though my jaw twitches without my permission. Rodney Roarke ruined my life. He stole all the promise I had from my father that I could do amazing things. I would be hanging out with my friends from baseball or saying goodnight to my mom. I could be doing my homework, completing my final year of high school had it not been for him and the Medo. The Medo took my life and shredded it to an unrecognizable heap.

Grayson Irons destroyed everything I had. He killed those twelve people. He robbed those stores. He put my face on every street corner and breaking news report while he was the one behind all of it. Everyone will always know me as the kid who was once Oltima's most wanted criminal when it was Grayson Irons all along.

And then there is Nicolette Binet. Another pawn in Roarke's elaborate yet improvised plan to take over the world. She stands on the edge of the light, examining her hound as it spreads out on the grass. Where does her loyalty lie? Grayson gifted me with Medo secrets; ones that could have him punished if Roarke finds out. The way she affronted Grayson makes me think that she doesn't like him. By association, she shouldn't like me either.

She took Craig from me. She stole the real Craig and gave me one that loved me, and for that, I loved him back. Is it because I'm naive? I have been deprived of so much friendliness that I absorbed the slightest bit of warmth. She made Craig into something he isn't and created a different version of myself that I now despise.

I can't tell who is the worst.

"Why are you doing this to me? Forcing me to suffer, threatening to take everything from me if I don't comply? You may think you're a leader to these people, but you're not. You take advantage of them and strip away any humanity bit by bit. I know you think this is for some noble cause, but whatever you are trying to incite will only lead in more death; death to innocents, death to your own people, and death to those trying to protect the world from those like you. Now, look, if you let me go, I'll fight your beasts, but you better leave me the fuck alone or I'll send the entire Imperial Guard after you."

Roarke clears his throat. "Is that a threat, Tross?"

I stride toward him. " I know where you guys are based. I tell the Captain, the Captain tells the Colonel, and the Colonel tells the General. You guys will be gone in hours."

He takes a step in my direction. Shadows peel from his mark and dissipate into the darkness beyond. "Or I could kill you right now and leave the Imperial Guard to fend for themselves."

"Rodney, you know it's not worth it," Nicolette implores. "Besides me, you have no one else with a hand in the Imperial Guard. He knows more than most in the Medo ever could. If he dies, we put a target on our back. The Imperial Guard will pursue us more than ever. We need him."

"I don't know where either of you found this level of boldness, but fine." Roarke backs off from me and glares at Nicolette. "I'll get off your back, but I'll be watching you. You can stay with the Imperial Guard. If I discover that you are directly responsible for the death of one of my men, you won't live to see the next day."

As if I could ever kill someone from the Medo. "Deal."

"So, that's settled. Now, how much did Grayson tell you about your first beast?" Roarke relaxes and crosses his arms. "He told me he met with you this morning."

"Just about everything I needed to know. He said it looks like a lizard."

He nods. "Good. Did he give you a date of arrival?"

"That's the one thing he didn't tell me."

Roarke paces to the side, massaging his chin. "Damn. The timing for you would have been perfect." He stops and looks back at me. "The first beast should be here by Friday afternoon. September 13th. Our scholars calculate the landfall to be in the northeastern end of the city."

A bullet passes through my chest, snapping my ribs and piercing my heart without any deliberation. Friday. Five days. The Imperial Guard only has five days to prepare for the biggest challenge they have ever faced. Nobody besides myself knows anything about what we are expecting, and we have until the end of the week to strategize and discuss what we are to do with a supernatural creature like the one we will encounter.

This cannot be something that I hide from everyone.

"Our scholars also have evidence that there may be a second beast tagging along behind the first, but they are not one-hundred percent on that," Roarke pauses. "Slater, you aren't listening to me, are you?"

I expel a mouthful of air. "Just trying to wrap my head around what you told me."

He gives me a closed smile. His feet trail into the dusk. "Good. I'll speak to you a day or two after the fact. Ready your troops." Roarke vanishes into the night, the black dust masked by the lack of illumination away from the glow. My mark flickers golden once before returning to grim.

"Petra, stand," Nicolette commands, and her hound rises with its lanky legs. The pointed ears perch toward the stars as the dog gazes at me. "I know what you're thinking about. It'll be scary, but as long as you all are prepared, it won't be as bad as you believe."

"Yeah, I hope so," I mutter. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there. You didn't have to do that."

"Sure I did. Rodney is the type that can keep his cool as long as someone doesn't tell him off. He's the most powerful man ever, and he takes any outburst against him to heart. You'll learn."

Something within me shudders. "I don't doubt that you can handle yourself, but I would be careful saying things like that about Roarke. He listens to everything we say, you know."

She exposes her arm from beneath her long sleeve. Just like Grayson this morning, the M I anticipate is faded into her skin. "Oblivion block. No speech in or out. As I said, you'll learn." She starts for the shadows with Petra but pauses in her tracks. "If I were you, I would sneak upstairs and tell someone about what you heard. The sooner you tell someone, the more you can do in the meantime. Good luck."

Nicolette treads into the darkness connected to her canine. Petra howls once more; the echoes resonating in my chest. A familiar yet harrowing sensation.