Danny handed the phone back to Smith.

“You alright, Skala?” Smith asked, looking at the streaks of tears Danny hadn’t bothered to wipe from his face.

Danny shrugged. He had promised his sister the impossible, that he was okay. She, of course, didn’t believe him. There was nothing either of them could do about it though. Danny had told her he’d try to get a new phone and call her back later that night. “Been a big couple of weeks man, just almost died, big things happening.” Danny eyed up Tamm, who was eyeing him up. “So, what’s next?”

“We keep an eye on the array. There is a good chance that there’s an occultist somewhere in the city with a lot of power and some sort of plan,” Tamm answered.

Danny looked over at Smith, who was still watching him with concerned eyes. “What’s that mean for us? For me?”

“I have a pretty strong case for keeping you on my task force, Skala, the big man won’t be sending you to the prison, We’ll need all the hands we can get to manage whatever the demons are up to. Madley will understand that, probably.”

“Cool, I’d love a shower and some sleep. Can I get a lift back to the academy?” Danny had a lot to process and he certainly didn’t want to do so in the company of Madley’s goons, his now colleagues.

Smith’s car wasn’t going anywhere, so they all piled into Tamm’s. While he was in the back, a curiosity struck Danny. “Yo, Tamm. You’re in charge of the array, right?”

“No. I am in charge of the electronic system that the array feeds into.”

“Cool, whatever, does that mean you’d be the person who knows the most about what’s going on with the mana in Madley?”

The woman’s cold blue eyes met his in the rearview mirror. “Yes, functionally.”

“Has anything weird been going on in the tunnels beneath the city lately?”

The woman paused, not taking her eyes off of him.

“What’s this about, Skala?” Smith interjected.

“Just curious, rumours are going around about odd things happening in the tunnels,” Danny answered with a shrug. “Don’t know if the rumours are true, but I was curious if it was magical or something.”

That pacified Smith, but Tamm was still staring at him.

“No Skala, nothing out of the ordinary has shown up.”

Danny stared back into the woman’s eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary? Well, ain’t that curious. Danny had a rather strong gut feeling that the woman knew exactly what he was talking about. From the way she was staring at him, she knew that he knew that she knew. She eventually looked away, refocusing on the road, but Danny knew that things had just taken a significant turn.

Even more for him to try and wrap his head around. Danny sighed and looked out of the window. What the hell is going on? The world around him was changing rapidly, every time he began to feel like he was finding his feet some major change or piece of information was introduced. I’m getting tired of this, when will things chill out for a bit? As soon as he had the thought he knew he had just jinxed himself. Things weren’t going to be chill for a while, he might as well accept that.

Eventually, the car made it to the academy and Danny was dropped off. As soon as he stepped foot into the building a new series of thoughts struck him. If the demonic business was a trap designed for him, how did they know he’d be there? Only a few hours ago he had been at the academy, it had been a sudden spur of energy that had sent him running over to Smith’s. Make that make sense.

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Danny absentmindedly navigated his way through the large building, finding his way into the wider complex, and eventually to the door of his apartment. Why was the Old Hag so set on him? What had happened to him as he had died? What were the beings beneath the city, really? Why was Tamm hiding their existence from the software?

I think it’s time for a shower, I need to think. For a second time, Danny found himself deeply contemplating in the shower. It was occurring to him that there might be far more going on in the city than he had previously accounted for. Aldous Madley clearly had his racket going on, but perhaps Danny had incorrectly assumed that it was the only racket being run in the city. The dictator was clearly in overt control of the city, but it was obvious now that Tamm was his eyes and ears. What was her aim?

It had to have been an incredibly risky activity to hide the zombies from Aldous, as the man clearly didn’t know about them. Why would the woman risk her life to hide them? Well, now it’s obvious she’s involved somehow. Tamm had been late to the scene as well, she had told Smith to hold out for five minutes but turned up 10-15 minutes later. What was her angle?

Danny scowled, he had a hard enough time trying to mentally navigate handling Aldous, now he had to work out what Tamm was up to. The concerning part was he knew nothing about the woman, he at least knew a little bit about the crazy old man running the city. The woman clearly knew about him, especially if she had a team of hackers at her disposal. Everything that existed about him was likely in her hands.

As Danny’s brain churned away he failed to notice that he was feeling increasingly drowsy. It was only as he was falling over, losing consciousness, that it occurred to him that he was a bit sleepy.

Danny found himself in a purely white space. At first, he thought he was alone, but he soon realised that he wasn’t. Somehow he had missed the woman standing before him, sharing the space with him. The woman was old, her back hunching over, her wrinkly arms and slight frame giving away her age. She wore a hooded shawl that hid her face, but Danny could see a hooked nose emerging from the shadows.

“Hello? Am I dreaming? Is this a lucid dream? Wow, I don’t think I’ve had a lucid dream before.” Danny looked around the space, he felt like he was dreaming, but he also felt conscious. It was an odd feeling.

“Oh child, you seem so lost. A poor soul caught up in a world of machinations beyond your comprehension.” The old woman spoke, her voice vaguely familiar. Her voice was low and smokey, evoking an image that didn’t match the figure before him. She spoke slowly, drawing out each word. It was a voice that he could only describe as sultry.

“Do I know you? Why are you in my dream?”

“You don’t know me well, not yet at least.” The voice was dripping with promise.

Something felt off to Danny. He knew that he knew the voice, but he just couldn’t place it. What was he missing? “Who are you?”

“A potential ally, a friend.” The old woman stood up straight, her posture changing as fast as her features. A stunning woman was revealed, blonde hair cascading down around her shoulders. Her shawl gave way to a black cocktail dress. “Or perhaps, a lover?”

The hairs on the back of Danny’s neck stood on end. Something was wrong, deeply wrong. The woman stalked toward him and his heart began to pound in his chest. Her green eyes were deep, deeper than the deepest well. There was a boundless history packed within them, the more he looked the more enraptured he became.

“W-What do you want from me?” Danny couldn’t help but stammer, finding himself breathless.

“Everything, Danny. I want everything.” Danny’s knees began to buckle as the woman’s lips got close to his ear and she whispered to him. “I want you to give it to me, everything of yours.”

Danny felt compelled to agree, why wouldn’t he? This woman, whoever she may be, was going to give him everything he could ever desire, he just knew it. This woman would guide him through the difficult times he was trying to navigate all alone. “That’s right Danny, you’re carrying so much. So much. I’ll help you, I’ll make it so much easier for you.”

Danny fell to his knees. The woman gracefully fell with him, wrapping herself around his shoulders. “It’s been difficult, hasn’t it? You’ve been so alone. You’ve done so well, I can take it from here, Danny.”

Danny felt himself begin to nod. It had been tough. It had been so tough for so long. He wanted someone else to come in and take over for him. He had been so alone, so very alone. “I’m here now Danny, it’s okay. I’ll take care of everything, you just have to let me in.

“Danny, just let me in.” The sultry voice cooed in his ear.