Saxon threw his coat over Octave as they walked together toward Torch. It was freezing and raining, plus it helped to hide the fact that Octave was cuffed.

Saxon breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I should be right here. Just take a …”

“Right at the intersection,” Octave interrupted.

Saxon turned his head to look at Octave. “How’d you know that?” Saxon asked.

Octave took a few seconds to answer. “Just felt right?” he responded unsurely.

“Well if it feels right, then let’s not be wrong,” Saxon remarked, as he turned right. The fact that Octave was feeling the effects of Elly’s mythos helped put Saxon at ease.

Torch took up a full fourth of the block it was on.

Saxon still remembers its humble beginnings as a renovated dance studio. Many of the people who relied on Torch to get by ended up returning to pay it forward.

Once it started to grow, Midas even offered to buy up the place. Mister Malone--Midas’ CEO--had visions to franchise Torch, and make it Fable’s go-to place for the homeless.

None of that sat right with Elly, so she refused. As she put it, if she were to franchise Torch, it would go from a beating heart to a metal one--more efficient at its job, in exchange for all its warmth.

“Hang on,” Saxon said, placing his arm in front of Octave, “we can’t have you cuffed up in here.” Saxon took out the keys to Octave’s handcuffs.

“Okay,” Octave agreed, surprised by Saxon’s decision.

“Two rules,” Saxon said, uncuffing Octave, and putting the handcuffs into his pocket, “no mythos, and no leaving my line of sight.”

Octave nodded his head. Since Octave had only seen Saxon use Schrödinger's cat, Saxon believed Octave would assume his mythos allowed him to teleport freely, and thus find running away to be a pointless endeavor.

Stepping into Torch, both Saxon and Octave felt their bodies warm, and ears filled with the sound of conversation.

“Hey there Saxon,” the lady at the front desk said, calling out to him.

“Hey Roxy,” Saxon replied, “how’s college?”

“Well, I just got my essay back for my creative writing class,” Roxy responded, holding up a packet of papers with a 100 written in red pen at the top.

“The next generation’s Shakespeare, in the flesh” Saxon jokes.

“Shakespeare was the beta,” Roxy quipped back, “and I’m the full release.”

“Ok, love the confidence,” Saxon said. “You also were talking about your math midterm too. Where’s that one?”

“Uh, that got lost,” Roxy said unconvincingly.

“Sure,” Saxon responded sarcastically. “Anyway, I’m showing this kid around. Mind checking him in? Name is Octave.”

“Cool name,” Roxy commented, glancing over at Octave.

“Thanks,” Octave replied sheepishly.

“Here we are,” Roxy said, checking in Octave on the computer at the front desk. “Alright, it should be good to go for now, but if he’s staying any longer, make sure to formally register him.”

“Thanks, Roxy,” Saxon said, ushering Octave into the main area, “will do.”

Torch’s main hall looked more like a cafeteria than a homeless shelter. No beds were in sight, but there were plenty of tables, and even some TVs were hanging on the walls. Most notably, there was a full line of food set up buffet style, and an open kitchen right behind it. All of the delicious smells of freshly cooked food wafted throughout the main hall.

“Do you know her?” Octave asked, admiring Torch’s interior.

“Oh Roxy,” Saxon responded, “everyone knows her.” Saxon glanced back to see Roxy’s beaming face, as she helped an elderly lady at the desk. “Everyone at Torch is family, but Roxy even more so. Her parents got into a car accident, her grandparents succumbed to illness, and none of her relatives wanted her, so she came here.”

“How old was she?” Octave asked curiously.

“If memory serves me correctly,” Saxon said, staring at the ceiling, “around 9 years old.”

Octave’s eyes widened with surprise. Saxon finding Octave alone was a sign that he may not have much of a family left either; Saxon felt Roxy’s story would resonate with Octave, and give him some hope for a potential future at Torch.

Octave’s stomach rumbled, smelling the food in the air. His face turned slightly red with embarrassment. “Could we maybe get something to eat?”

Saxon let out a laugh. “Sure. It’s Tuesday, so I hope you like tacos.”

On his way to get food, Saxon stopped walking as a man hollered at him. “Hey Saxon, get a load of this.”

Octave stopped once he heard Saxon’s name called.

“You can go,” Saxon whispered to Octave, “just got to handle something real quick.”

“What is it this time Jared?” Saxon asked aloud, walking over to the man.

“Look at this,” Jared said, gesturing to the chess board in front of him, “Jason’s cheating again, and more blatant than ever.”

Jason, who sat across from Jared, let out a deep sigh. “Again Jared, it’s called castling. So long as your king hasn’t moved, and there are no pieces between the king and the rook, then you can move your king two squares toward your rook, and place the rook on the other side of your king.”

“I ain’t never heard of it,” Jared argued, “and I’ve been playing chess for 40 years.”

Saxon leaned over the board, taking note of where all the pieces were. “You could castle right now,” Saxon said to Jared.

“Well then,” Jared said cockily, moving the pieces as Saxon described, “how do you like it?”

“Bishop takes queen,” Jason said matter-of-factly.

“Huh,” Jared said, his face frozen in an expression of shock. Jared turned his face toward Saxon as if it were Saxon’s fault this had happened.

“Hey I said you could,” Saxon protested, raising his hands in a display of innocence, “never that you should.”

“Whatever,” Jared said dismissively, “it’s still fine.”

“It’s also checkmate in four,” Jason informed Jared.

“Good luck with game two, old man,” Saxon said with a smile, patting Jared on the pack.

Saxon quickly scanned the room for Octave, he’d left him out of his sight for too long. Saxon was relieved to see Octave devouring a pile of tacos. Octave was small, but he could eat.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Saxon grabbed two tacos and sat down next to Octave. “You know if you were that hungry, we coulda stopped somewhere on the way.”

Octave looked up from his mountain of food. “I don't think I was in a position to be making requests,” Octave contended, his mouth still full of food.

“Fair enough,” Saxon said with a chuckle, reaching over to a nearby table, and grabbing a napkin from it. “Keep eating,” Saxon insisted, wiping food from Octave’s lips, “and don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Octave gave a thumbs up and continued filling his empty stomach. Saxon crumpled up the napkin into a ball, took aim at a nearby trash can, and completely whiffed the shot. While he was getting up to go retrieve the napkin, a woman picked it up from the ground.

“No littering Saxon,” the woman said, waving the balled-up napkin before tossing it into the trash can.

“Elly!” Saxon exclaimed, diverting the subject. “I want you to meet somebody.”

Octave stood up, and straightened his back, to look as presentable as possible.

“This is Octave,” Saxon said, pointing at Octave.

“Wonderful to meet your Octave,” Elly said. “I’m Elly Heart, and I make sure this place doesn't go up in flames.”

Octave’s face shifted to one of confusion.

“I’m the founder,” Elly elaborated, recognizing that Octave didn’t understand her fully.

“Oh,” Octave said surprised, “uh, ni-nice to meet you, Mrs. Heart.”

Elly chuckled. “Just Elly is fine.”

“Right,” Octave said, nodding his head.

“Why don’t you come up to my office, and we can have a little chat,” Elly offered.

Octave turned to Saxon for approval.

“You can go,” Saxon said, knowing Elly could handle herself in the worst-case scenario.

“Come on,” Elly insisted, signaling for Octave to follow her up the stairs.

“Have a seat,” Elly said to Octave, as she sat down at her desk.

“Feels like I’m in the principal’s office again,” Octave remarked, sitting down.

“Are you going to school?” Elly inquired.

“Used to,” Octave responded.

“Where at?” Elly asked.

“One near the precinct,” Octave said, struggling to remember the name.

“Ah, Cypher High, I’m familiar,” Elly said. “So why aren’t you going anymore?”

“Doesn’t make money,” Octave responded matter-of-factly.

“Well, why do you need the money?” Elly asked.

“I need to pay some people back,” Octave answered.

“Why?” Elly responded, sensing Octave wasn’t talking about actual debts.

“Do you know what an alleyway baby is?” Octave asked.

“I run a homeless shelter,” Elly reminded Octave, “I know.” Elly wasn’t surprised to learn this. She had her suspicions since she heard Octave’s name. Since they’re abandoned at birth, alleyway babies typically picked their name.

“Then you know people in that situation never survive on their own,” Octave said.

“So the people who helped you survive are coming back to collect on their investment?” Elly inquired.

“No!” Octave asserted. “It’s just, they gave me so much, and I can’t give back nothing.”

So that’s what this was, Elly thought. “Saxon tell you about Roxy?”

“Yeah,” Octave replied. “I get it, you help people who’ve lost everything.”

“No, not about that,” Elly said. “Do you know why she started working the front desk?”

“She was the right person for the job?” Octave answered unconfidently.

“Definitely that,” Elly said, “but she also has a debt to pay.”

“To who?” Octave asked.

“Just about everyone you saw down there,” Elly responded with a smirk.

“I don’t get it,” Octave said, perplexed.

“When Roxy wanted to go to college everyone here raised all the money we could to send her,” Elly informed Octave. “She initially refused the money, but we all insisted. When she finally took it, she vowed to pay it back. The moment we had an opening, Roxy swiped it up, but even after she had money, nobody would accept a penny from her.”

“Why not?” Octave asked.

“Cause we wanted to help,” Elly responded, “and people who want to help, don’t need anything for their help.”

Octave sat back in his chair.

“If they never came asking for anything,” Elly said, “then that means they don’t want anything.”

Octave became lost in thought. If someone does something for you, then you’ll have to do something for them, that was the classic rule of street survival; never to take any favors you couldn’t afford to pay back.

Octave couldn’t comprehend the idea that the people who raised him, when his family left him in an alleyway, didn’t deserve everything he could give them.

Elly could tell what Octave was thinking. She’d helped many people in his exact situation. “Listen I don’t know these people who helped,” Elly said, gently placing a hand on Octave’s shoulder, “but they gave you a chance at life, and I doubt they’d want you to waste it on them.”

“Do you mind if they come here too?” Octave asked, holding back tears.

“We'd be more than happy to have them,” Elly said. “Some call this place crowded, but I prefer the term lively.”

Octave chuckled and cracked a smile.

“It was wonderful meeting you Octave,” Elly said, stretching her arm across the desk.

“Likewise,” Octave responded, accepting the handshake.

Elly took a quick glimpse at Octave’s hands, before letting go.

“Now buzz off, and have some fun,” Elly commanded jokingly, “and let me take care of Saxon.”

Octave opened the door to leave and spotted Saxon sitting on the steps. “She say you can stay?”

“Think so,” Octave said cheerfully, smiling.

“Well then you’re not my responsibility anymore,” Saxon joked, “but still hold back on the mythos okay.”

“Will do!” Octave said as he bolted down the stairs.

Elly left her office and took a seat next to Saxon. “Interesting kid. You made the right call bringing him here.”

“How’d you figure it out?” Saxon asked.

“There were cuff marks on his wrist,” Elly said. “So what’d he do?”

“I’m not even sure he knows,” Saxon said, thinking back to Octave’s claim that he wasn’t hurting anybody. “He’s an avatar you know.”

“You know what the mythos is?” Elly asked, once again unsurprised.

“Makes objects vibrate to emit music that forces people to dance, and clouds the mind,” Saxon informed Elly. “Tried asking him what it was on the way here, but he didn’t have any idea.”

“Where’d you find him?” Elly inquired.

“Some nightclub that opened near the precinct,” Saxon said. “It was called The Epilogue, he was working as the DJ. He sat on the second story, and made the ceiling to the first floor vibrate using his mythos.”

“Didn’t you say it forced people to dance?” Elly asked.

“That was the problem,” Saxon informed Elly. “There was a guy I met a couple of blocks away from the place. He was forced to dance for a day straight, and only escaped cause he got kicked out. ”

Elly found the situation to be just as strange as Saxon did. “How does a place like that stay in business?”

“That’s the weird part,” Saxon said. “The dude only went, because he got a recommendation from his wife, who had been.”

Elly’s brain gave out while trying to process all the information. “None of this makes sense.”

“Nothing has recently,” Saxon lamented.

Too much had happened in a single day for Saxon to feel at ease. Octave’s recognition of the badge implied that there was somebody at the FMPD working behind everyone’s back; and why would they show up just to tell Octave they were going to leave him alone? There must’ve been more to that conversation.

Octave seemed genuinely unaware that his mythos was causing other people harm, but that didn’t add up either. To produce music throughout an entire floor probably required some degree of practice, which meant he should’ve understood that his mythos controlled people’s will.

Then there was the question of how Octave even manifested his mythos without knowing what it was.

All of that was ignoring everything to do with Desmond Riley. Saxon was still convinced that Desmond’s mythos had some ability to hide him, so his having been caught so easily made no sense. However, if Desmond wanted to be caught, then his trying to escape refutes that idea. Maybe he was trying to make it look believable, but that was such a stretch.

Even if Desmond did want to be captured, that still left a big question: why? A question Quinn had proposed, and Saxon still couldn’t answer.

To top it off, Saxon had a new partner. Lya certainly was strong in a fight, but right now it was brains not brawn that Saxon needed. For the first time since Herman’s promotion, Saxon found himself wishing he had his old partner back.

Elly picked up that there was a lot more going on than what Saxon was telling her. “So what’s the play now?”

Saxon could feel a big change coming. If this was the calm, then he couldn’t comprehend the size of the storm. Saxon needed to be prepared. It was time to stockpile new mythoi, and Saxon knew there was one place he could do that, better than anywhere else.

Saxon stood up. “First thing tomorrow, I’m heading to the Underworld.”