Bear retreated to his study, Darcy disappeared on her date with Gracie Jo, and Dr. Everett settled behind his desk, all three scattering from the loft like characters in a theater scene change. For a moment, Suzi stood there, torn between the urge to rush over to Aiden at the hospital and the tug of questions buzzing in her mind.

She steeled herself, stepping closer to Everett’s desk. “Dr. Everett?” she asked, words hesitant. This new swirl of confusion and memory left her off-balance, and she wasn’t even sure how to bring it up.

He looked up and gave a gentle half-smile. “You can call me ‘C’ or just ‘Everett.’” His gaze sharpened with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Suzi’s stomach knotted. “Did you see that image when I took the ring from you?” She hated how flimsy her voice sounded, but she pushed on. “It wasn’t exactly an image. More like—some memory, but it wasn’t mine. Or it wasn’t…real?”

She watched his face shift from mild interest to guarded apprehension. He stood slowly, tilting his head. “What image?” he asked quietly.

“It felt like…maybe it was a premonition? It slammed into my mind the moment my hand touched the ring and your hand. You didn’t see it?”

For a beat, he didn’t move. Then he exhaled, shoulders dropping a fraction. “If you saw something like that, it’s possible the ring let you tap into my ability.” His mouth hardened into a grim line. “I get images—premonitions, you could say—every time I touch someone. I’ve learned to stash them away quickly. It can be fucking unsettling, though. Did you see my death? Or yours?”

Her heart thudded at his bluntness. “Neither, I think. We were both alive, but it felt…like a scene that never actually happened yet. It was real as hell, but I knew it hadn’t taken place.”

His throat bobbed in a hard swallow. “Then it’s presumably my death or something tied to it.” He said it in a resigned way, like the concept of finally dying gave him relief. “Don’t tell me the details. I don’t want to know.” He barked the last part, startling her.

“I—I couldn’t explain it if I tried,” Suzi managed, still rattled by the way he’d snapped.

He nodded, jaw tight. “Means you’ve mastered the ring enough to copy my ability. May I see it again?”

She fumbled the golden band from her jeans pocket and set it on the desk. Everett stood but didn’t touch it, turning an analytical gaze her way. “No, I need you to hold it—or wear it—then touch Bear or Darcy. See if you glean one of their abilities or if you stay stuck with mine.”

Suzi’s chest constricted. “I’m sorry, Doctor E, but I have zero desire to see how they die.” Her voice came out sharper than she intended.

His stare hardened. “Listen. This ring’s been gone for a millennium and a half. Last rumor placed it with Attila the Hun in about 450 AD. We have no idea how it truly operates, and Darcy, Bear, and I need to figure it out, so we can use it too. From everything we know, the Ring of Eae could be among the most powerful artifacts left in existence.”

She shrugged, a queasy feeling churning in her gut. “If it’s so special, why would the Harvester just hand it off to some mortal lackey?” A swirl of confusion made her head ache. “And why could I absorb it in the first place? I thought I couldn’t absorb super-powerful items.”

Everett’s expression darkened. “No clue. Maybe he’s going senile, but I doubt it. More likely, he’s hoarding so much raw will that relics are meaningless to him now. That’s dangerous—that likely means that whatever his endgame is likely very close to being executed.”

Before Suzi could respond, Bear’s voice rumbled from the door. “Who’s getting executed?”

Everett didn’t even twitch. “No one, Bear.”

The shapeshifter arched a brow, then looked at Suzi. His gaze flickered to the ring on the desk, then back to her face. “Wait. Did she pick up someone’s ability with that ring? That’s awesome.” He looked genuinely delighted. “She didn’t touch me, must’ve been Darcy, right?”

Suzi shifted, feeling guilt gnaw at her. “No. I got it from him.” Her chin jerked toward Everett.

Bear frowned. “Oh.” He tapped the hardcover book in his hand thoughtfully, then pressed it closed around his finger. “How about we test it on me? You put it on, see if you sense anything from me.” He held out his arm invitingly.

She almost wanted to cry from how much she didn’t want that. “I can’t. I just—can’t.”

He lowered himself onto the couch and patted the cushion. Suzi felt her chest squeeze, eyes burning. “Look,” Bear said quietly, “C and I, we’ve been around a long time. We already know we’re living on borrowed time, that eventually we’ll die. He already knows how I die. I’m curious if you’d see the same scenario with his borrowed ability. Or maybe you get something else. Call it scientific curiosity.”

“Or maybe you’ll pick up Bear’s ability,” Everett added from behind the desk. “That’d be useful data.”

Bear spread his hands. “It’s your artifact, Suzi. A rare, incredibly rare one. We’re just saying: if you can harness it fully, we might be able to tip the scale in our fight.”

She rubbed her face, feeling tears sting behind her eyes. “I’m not ready for that kind of burden. Why don’t you guys just…take it, share it, figure it out yourselves?”

Bear’s tone gentled. “Because the ring bonded with you. It might take the rest of us days or weeks or longer to make it cooperate for us.”

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Suzi’s eyes darted to the ring. Her thoughts skittered wildly. “If I touch you and get your ability, does that mean I can morph into every animal you can?”

Bear chuckled. “Doubtful. Took me decades to connect with each creature. But maybe you’d glean some partial piece of shapeshifting? It’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Her brow furrowed. “So why wouldn’t it bond with you the same way it bonded with me?” She jutted her chin at Everett.

Bear set his book on a side table. Everett stepped around the desk and picked up the ring carefully, leaning closer to them. The gold glinted in the overhead light.

“We’ve discovered some artifacts just…don’t sync with certain people,” Bear explained. “Likewise, some of my relics don’t work for others. Usually, it’s about the relic’s origin. I’m not Christian, and many Christian-based relics don’t respond to me.”

“Your relics?” Suzi repeated, confused.

He nodded. “I don’t subscribe to the one-God worldview. Technically, I’m not a Celestial. I’m a Kindred. I know, it’s basically the same concept, but the term ‘Celestial’ is usually reserved for Christian-based powers. Kindreds have different powers and perks.”

She stared at him, trying to parse it all. “Perks? Like you get a 401(k) while I don’t?”

Bear cracked a smile. “Not exactly. But for instance, we’re both basically immortal. You heal in days from any wound. I can heal too, but a bit slower. You can’t use your ability on consecrated ground, but I can. You get tired, but each time I shift, I’m refreshed. Subtle differences.”

Her head spun. “So, your gods—are they in that Elevated Plane with all the rest? Part of that pantheon you told me about?”

He spread his hands. “I…honestly don’t think so. My tribe worshipped nature and animals. Those gods, we believe, walk the Earth. We believe they can cross dimensions, but I’ve not found any evidence that they exist in the elevated realm.”

She remembered him saying all faiths exist in that realm. “But you said earlier that nearly every deity from every religion was in the Elevated Plane.”

With a shrug, Bear corrected, “I believe I said ‘nearly’. We don’t believe that animism and aboriginal belief systems have an anchor to the Elevated Plane, or at least there is no evidence or record that they do, but the rest, though—yeah, they’re there. Or what’s left of them. Some are half-forgotten husks.”

“What do you mean? We have evidence that other religions' gods exist in Heaven?”

Bear cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Sort of. ‘Heaven’ is a city on the Elevated Plane, just like Elation, Valhalla, Olympus, Shangri La, Aaru, and all the others. ‘City’ isn’t even the proper term—more like worlds. Perhaps ‘existences?’ It’s very difficult to explain, likely because the few of us that have visions of such places cannot describe it properly in human terms.”

“You have visions of these places?”

“No. Not I, but some of the other Kindred and Celestials through time have, yes.”

A throbbing headache set in at her temples. “I’ve just come to terms that God—the God—Christian God—Whatever you want to call him—is real. That nearly broke my mind. And now you are telling me that ALL religions are correct and ALL their gods are real as well.”

He gave a wry half-smile. “Sure. Except Scientology. That’s a crock of shit.”

She huffed out a breath, borderline hysterical. “But Zeus? Thor? Are they fucking real? Let me guess—Mjolnir is a powerful artifact too?” The sarcasm seeped in, but she wanted to be serious. Some part of her needed a denial, needed someone to say it wasn’t that crazy.

Everett’s and Bear’s exchanged glances spoke volumes. In them, she saw a quiet confirmation.

Her stomach flipped. “You can’t be serious… I want that hammer,” she half-joked, half-wished it were possible. “It’d be so cool.”

Everett’s lips twisted in a dismissive smile. “You and the rest of the world.” He sighed, crossing his arms. “But no—Thor’s hammer is not conveniently lying around in some gift shop.”

Suzi exhaled. The enormity of it all felt suffocating but also…intriguing, like she was on the edge of a whole new universe. She shivered, not sure if it was excitement or dread. Probably both.

Bear’s tone was earnest, tinged with awe. “A god’s artifact would be an extraordinary find. Any god. Anyone who wielded such a relic would have nearly unlimited power here on the material plane.”

Suzi’s stomach tightened at the thought. “So, Ellie’s…some kind of god, then?”

Bear shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Right, but she’s part of that pantheon?” Suzi pressed, trying to piece it all together.

“We believe so, yeah,” Bear said simply.

Everett cut in with that clipped efficiency of his. “We need to figure out who she was and why she came here in the first place.” He tossed the Ring of Eae to Suzi like it was a worn-out toy, then dropped back into his chair.

She caught the ring automatically, staring down at its golden surface gleaming in her palm.

Bear’s voice softened. “So, are you willing to give it a shot?”

Her chest cramped. “Bear…I like you. You’re a friend. I really don’t want to see how you die.”

He offered a small, genuine smile. “I appreciate that. I understand. No pressure.” Gathering his book, he stood, leaving her to puzzle over the ring.

Suzi, still unsettled by the possibility of glimpsing someone else’s death, clenched the ring. She murmured, “Ring of Eae,” intending to reabsorb it as she’d done before. Nothing happened. She tried again, louder and more precise. It remained in her hand. “Son of a bitch,” she breathed, frustration mounting.

Bear stopped mid-stride, turning toward her. “What’s wrong?”

She lifted the ring so both he and Everett could see it. “I can’t absorb it anymore,” she said, voice tight.

Her words seemed to spark alarm. Bear and Everett exchanged a glance.

“Hand it over,” Everett said tersely, extending his palm.

With some reluctance, Suzi tossed him the ring. He closed his fingers around it, face controlled. “Ring of Eae,” he said. A beat passed; when he opened his hand, the ring still lay there, stubbornly unchanged. “Well,” he muttered, “at least we didn’t end up swapping abilities.”

“I’ll dig up whatever info I can,” Bear said, slipping back into that calm, analytical mode.

Everett flicked the ring back to Suzi with a casual motion. “Keep it safe for now.”

Bear eyed Suzi. “Can you absorb these?” he asked, taking off his round-rimmed glasses and offering them to her.

From the back of Suzi’s mind, Judas’s voice whispered the name: Ramiel’s Vision. Suzi repeated it under her breath, pressing the glasses in her hand. She felt a faint tingle, then they dissolved like mist, the men around her watching with wide-eyed fascination.

“Remarkable,” Bear murmured.

When she spoke the name again, the glasses reappeared as if they’d never left. Suzi returned them to Bear, brow furrowed. “What changed about the ring, though?” she asked, frustration edging into her voice.

Bear shrugged. “No idea,” he admitted. “Artifacts can be finicky.”

Suzi tossed the ring between her fingers, a little too nonchalantly. She slid her middle finger through its center to let it dangle, wanting to test it somehow. The metal shrank in an instant, snapping tight around her finger.

“What the fuck!” She jerked upright, yanking at the ring with her other hand. It refused to budge. “It won’t come off,” she said, panic threading through every syllable.

Bear tucked his book beneath his arm, sliding his glasses back on. He reached out, palm up. “Suzi, let me—”

She recoiled, heart thudding. “No! Don’t touch me!” The pure terror in her own voice shocked her.

Bear spoke softly, carefully. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I can’t— I need to get out of here!” Suzi forced the words out, turned on her heel, took one step…and vanished into thin air.