***

That very evening, I’m riding the tower’s high-speed elevator, carrying a stack of oily cardboard boxes.

“We’re in position,” Iketek whispers in my mind. “The waiters look at us with some suspicion - and by us, I mean Daravoi - but apparently, I look upper class enough to get us in without questions.”

My friends are positioned in a fancy restaurant on the sixty-five floor. I’ll be the only one to physically enter the labs, with Iketek riding my mind. Her mental presence is reassuring, but still, going in alone sucks, so I will annoy her, to spread the unhappiness.

“My arms hurt,” I tell Iketek through our mental connection. The take-away box I’m carrying is heavy. “How did the delivery boy handle it? He didn’t look much stronger than me.”

“The average sick kitten is stronger than you, Korentis,” Iketek answers, and I can picture her sigh. “Anyway, focus on the job. I confirm the emergency escape route is feasible. Let’s try not to need it, though.”

I look at the little screen in the elevator marking the current floor - still at fifty-four. I put the boxes down. My arms ache.

“You can’t simply force someone hand me the relic at the door, right?” I ask.

“I could, after you help me infiltrate the researchers’ mind. I’m near enough that I could compel a single person. But I wouldn’t be able to be subtle with it, and that would attract immediate attention, possibly even before they hand you the relic. So, let’s stick to…”

She trails off. I still feel her presence in my mind - like an itch just behind my eyes - but she doesn’t speak anymore.

Lost Stars, it’s not the time for her powers to glitch.

“Is something wrong?” I ask, starting to tense. My heart beats faster and faster. I’m sick with fear, in a way - but I’m getting used to the fear of being caught and killed, strange as that sounds. And there’s an excitement with it that nothing else can match.

“...I don’t know,” Iketek answers after a beat. “Something brushed against our connection. At first, I thought it could be a ward, but it was probably… something else.”

It takes me a moment to realize why she’s being vague - she means demons.

The elevator starts slowing down - floor fifty-five. Sixty-six. Sixty-eight.

“Are we doing something really stupid, Iketek? Like, is a d-word going to eat me?” I ask. Her plan sounded like a stroll in the park, back when she was explaining it. But as I prepare to walk alone into a lab full of silver, with the chance of a demon following me, I’m much less confident.

I try to remind myself that I did lots of dangerous stuff by now, and always came out fine. But one day Big Sis lectured me about survivorship bias, and for some reason, I think it may be relevant here.

“Yes, we are,” Iketek answers, “as I said from the beginning, this plan is risky and unpredictable. But that hasn’t changed since this morning. I keep spotting things in the Else, but I don’t think they’re here for the relic, they are just… moving aimlessly. Now, stop thinking about them.”

Well, that’s reassuring. It’s not that a demon is following us, it’s just that the whole city is crawling with demons.

Why is it happening? Is it a coincidence that the Else became so agitated right now? Iketek says it happens spontaneously sometimes, it’s called an Else-storm, but it’s supposed to be very rare.

And why does Sacred Song want the relic? We mean to run away and avoid the Syndicates like the plague once we deliver the tetrahedron, but I hate the idea that I’ll never find out why we’re doing this. Is the tetrahedron related to demons? What if it’s… some kind of demon-calling weapon? Fallen Home, that would be so cool. And also terrible, because we’d be giving it to the super-bad guys.

Can we really hand it over? Even more than the risk of being caught, that’s what gnaws at my mind.

Helping a friend or not, even I can tell that what I’m doing is wrong, and there’s no sugarcoating it. It turns out I kind of care.

The Prop Master sounded very certain that the Twisting Tetrahedron is useless, and the Syndicates are wrong in believing otherwise. But what if he’s missing some piece of information? Or what if he lied, so we’d have less scruples in helping Iketek? Damn, it sucks when people lie to you!

Well, too late for second thoughts. The elevator is stopping, and after all the prep work we did, I’m not going to just deliver the tofu rolls and leave.

The door slides to reveal a waiting room, all corporate-beige and polished steel. A bored clerk sits behind the counter, xe doesn’t even raise xir eyes as the elevator opens. Next to the counter, there’s a gate with an ID scanner leading inside the complex. A single private guard watches over it - a middle-aged man slouched against the wall, with incredibly boring father and married tattoos around his eyes. He has a taser, but no gun that I can see.

Show time. I’m a bored delivery boy who just started the night shift. Wait, do delivery boys even work in shifts? I should learn more about poor people.

No, that’s not how I should be thinking. What matters is, I’m not a threat, I don’t care about this place.

“Food delivery for Dr. Voronev,” I say, looking at the reception clerk. “Can I leave it here?”

The clerk gestures vaguely at the counter, not even looking at me. Hey, that’s rude. Also, I need to lock eyes with xem, but not in a way that attracts attention.

“Hm, excuse me,” I say, letting some of my innate awkwardness show, “could I use the toilet? It’s a long way down.”

Finally, xe looks at me and nods - it’s just a glance, but xir eyes meet mine, and in that moment, I feel something, like a snake uncoiling from inside my head.

Golden motes dance in the clerk’s eyes for a split second. Iketek’s mind-hopping spell was transferred to the receptionist, and as soon as xe locks eyes with a researcher, Iketek will get inside the lab, without any risk of detection.

I leave the cardboard boxes and smile, keeping ready to run for the stairs if alarms go off.

“I’m there,” Iketek whispers in my mind. “I can still talk to you, but I can’t see through your eyes anymore. Be careful.”

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I go to the toilet, my hands shaking with nervous energy. I shouldn’t be worried, I’m just a food delivery kid - no, boy, why is it so hard to remember that? - and I did my job. But I can’t make it work. The face I’m wearing is just a mask, not a full persona like Tharvais. Is it because I didn’t practice enough? Or because Tharvais - like other Lies I made - was a facet of me in some way, while this identity isn’t?

Well, it doesn't matter. I make sure to flush and wash my hands, trying to calm down. Even if she called it rough, Iketek’s plan is some complicated shit, but so far, so good.

There’s a theta detector in the labs, but Iketek’s mind-hopping spell is very hard to detect - even I could barely feel her magic. My anchored Lie went unnoticed, too.

I leave, giving a quick nod at the clerk, who entirely ignores me. I really hope xe’ll look at Dr.Voronev when she comes to collect her pizza, it would be really stupid if we had to scrap the operation because the receptionist is too antisocial.

Well, that’s a worry for later. I call the elevator and move down ten floors - it’s a shopping level where I can kill some time without drawing suspicion, and I’ll stay close enough to Iketek that she can mind-call me without effort.

As the elevator moves, I take from my bag a mirror and a folded piece of paper with a sketch. I’m getting good at changing appearance, by now, especially with a reference. Iketek suggested using pictures of random real people, but strangely, I find it easier if I’m the one drawing them. A picture might be more detailed, but when I do a quick sketch, I also understand the idea of the person I want to become.

I weave my Lie slowly, extra-careful not to make ripples in the Else.

Even so, as my reflection splits in a spiral of possible mes, I hear whispers. For a moment, I glimpse someone behind me - a tall, dark silhouette, with spikes on their head. I turn around - but there’s nothing. This must be the Else being super-extra-fucked today.

My current fake ID - the third the Prop Master procured for me - is of a brown-skinned Landfaller in xir mid-twenties, called Kilistek. It’s not a top-notch fake like Tharvais, but it allows me to go through an ID gate, and I practiced changing my appearance and gait to match xirs.

Inside, though, I’m Tharvais. This is university business, after all, not some lark. It should be handled by an expert.

By the time the elevator stops, I’m ready. I’m Tharvais, even if - annoyingly - I look like this random, somewhat disheveled kid, Kilistek. I have to wait until Dr. Voronev gets the call from the University, so I glance at the shops lining the corridor, and I walk into an electronic store.

I can kill some time looking at shiny stuff I know absolutely nothing about. Should I get myself a proper gaming rig? It’s not very scholarly, but entertainment has a place in one’s life, and we should be comfortable in our flat. My roomie would probably appreciate it, he comes from a disadvantaged background and he’s learning to enjoy leisure activities.

No, I fucking shouldn’t, we’re going to move soon. It’s all too easy to become Tharvais again.

“The doctor came to collect her lunch,” Iketek says. “I jumped to her mind. We’ll make the fake call in a couple of minutes.”

One more step without incident. Can we really pull this through without a hitch? We’re getting good at this criminal gig. Even if I hadn’t been a mage, I probably should have tried crime as a career.

Tharvais immediately dislikes the thought, but I push xem away. Xe’ll be useful in the lab, but right now, there’s too much illegal stuff going on. My baseline self, with my flexible morals, works better for that.

As I wait for Iketek’s signal, I check out the e-ink digital notebooks - I should really get one, paper is costly and easily lost, and I’m wasting a lot of it with my stupid sketches. I had narrowed down my options between two models when Iketek mind-speaks again.

“Daravoi made the call,” she says, and even in the mental whisper, I hear her snigger. “Forgotten Enemy, he’s a terrible actor, even compared to me. But the doctor fell for it, and I barely had to help. She’s waiting for you. She asked some questions though, and Dara had to make up some bullshit on the fly – he said that the University couldn’t send the usual release paperwork because of new procedures after the robbery at the Vault.”

“Did you have to remind them of magical robbers?” I ask.

“Don’t worry, I know for a fact Dr. Voronev believed it - I was in her mind. Also, some good news I picked from her brain: their theta detectors ignore low signals in the lab rooms, to avoid being triggered by relics all the time. So you can afford to use a little magic, when you're in.”

With a last longing glance at the notebooks, I ride the elevator back to floor 70, changing into the sensible blue tunic I carried in the delivery bag - I could easily change clothes with a Lie, but it’s one less detail to keep track of. Finally, I slide my fingers over the delivery bag, tying a simple illusion to it, to hide the logo and make it look like a student’s fabric bag.

I take a deep breath - there’s nothing to be nervous about. I’m just Tharvais, running errands for my advisor. Everyone knows that’s the price of mentorship.

The doors open, and this time the clerk looks at me, mildly annoyed. There’s no sign xe recognizes me.

“Can I help you?” Xe asks.

“Hello, I’ve an appointment with Dr. Voronev,” I say, “may I come in?”

“Wait,” xe answers, looking back at xir tablet, “we don’t have any scheduled appointments for the doctor, today.”

“It’s been a last minute decision from my advisor,” I say, closing my eyes for a moment and trying to convey exasperation, “but xe talked to the doctor. Can you check with her? I’m Kilistek, sent by professor Kairim. From the Department of Precursor studies.”

“Kairim?”, the security guard steps in the conversation, suddenly interested. “Isn’t xe the one who got robbed by a mage?”

I take a deep breath, make sure my hands don’t shake, and hope it will look like I’m annoyed, but trying to be polite. “There was a break-in at a university, from a mage posing as a student. Nothing was stolen, and the professor had barely interacted with the mage. Xe wasn’t robbed.”

The guard raises his hands. “Chill there, kid. I’m not saying your boss did wrong. Just checkin’.”

“I simply wanted to set the record straight,” I say, “there have been unpleasant rumors. And we really don’t need more disruption to our work.”

Behind the counter, the receptionist nods - xir lips move slightly, xe must be in a Stemlink call. Finally, xe looks at me, with a thin smile.

“Dr. Voronev is waiting for you, you can go in,” xe says. “In the future, please ask professor Kairim to go through our reception, if xe needs an appointment.”

“I will,” I say, looking guilty - which is really easy since I’m literally here to rob these people. “But xe, err, can be a bit forgetful.”

That gets a groan from the receptionist and a chuckle from the security guard. I walk to the scanner - it checks my ID. It could be a theta scanner too, but I’m not worried about it: I’m not actively using magic anymore, my disguise is a bound Lie.

I should work on my nervous sweat, though, someone will notice it sooner or later. But the security guard definitely doesn’t - the scanner flashes green, and he waves me in.

I hope he won’t be fired, when shit hits the fan. But I can live with that, as long as he lets me in.

The lab’s interior is disappointing. I was expecting some cool machinery, blast doors and armed guards. But it looks like a boring office space, with cubicles, coffee machines and awful carpets. A woman in her fifties is waiting for me next to the door. She has very dark skin and a host of tattoos over her face - truth-seeker, pansexual, in an open relationship, physicist, scholar, mother of three, fan of romance sims, and several more squeezed so tightly I can’t read them.

“Kilistek?” She asks. “I’m Dr Vorovev, nice to meet you - I don’t think we’ve met before, right? Your mentor goes through grad students at an alarming rate.”

“Keep her talking for a while,” Iketek says, “I’m making her more compliant, but I can use only a trickle of power.”

“I’m still doing my master’s project, actually,” I answer, “and I’ve started very recently. Have you worked with Professor Kairim for a long time?”

“Xe didn’t tell you?” Dr. Voronev raises an eyebrow. “Well, of course xe wouldn’t. Heavenly Captain forbids that xe talks about anything except work. But yes, Kairim and I have been working on re-classifying old relics for decades. The few relics ThauCon and the Council leave for us, that is.”

“I thought you worked with ThauCon, too?” I ask. I’d like to cut to the chase, every word I say is a risk - but she looks chatty, and the more Iketek can soften her before I ask the dangerous stuff, the better.

The woman’s expression turns sour. “Yeah, the Agency is SilverEye’s largest client, by necessity,” she says. “But working with them is a pain. If we find anything remotely interesting about a relic, they snatch it back and we never hear about it again. I much prefer working with the University. Anyway, the Professor wants the Tetrahedron back? I had hoped to study it a little longer.”

“Xe’s the boss,” I say, raising my hands, “but I think xe’ll be happy to send it here again in the future, if you think it’s worth investigating. We just need it back at the university for a while, there’s a full audit of the Vault’s contents.”

I think the story is pretty convincing, but she frowns - then her eyes gleam gold, and she nods.

“Well, follow me, I’ll take you to the analysis labs,” she says. “But you know there are procedures for carrying relics, even minor ones, right? We should have sent you the relic via certified courier.”