Standing on the frozen bank, Abe watched Bazaarbus’s boat fade back into the fog. And while the river seemed to cling to a blanket of mist at all times, the thicker cloud of white that followed Bazaarbus dissipated as he left.

Abe glanced down at the piece of blackened meat in his hand. The worms cried in hunger throughout his veins, itching for the chance to devour the meat. But they waited for Abe.

He wasn’t certain if they had been tamed or if it was an act that they would rebel against as they grew stronger. But he was uncertain of just about everything, and like everything else, that fear was filed to the back of his thoughts.

Closing his eyes, he focused on his emotions. It was akin to releasing positive energy or meditating, except he was giving parasitic worms the go-ahead to feed.

Abe’s eyes shot open as they began to move. Staring at his hand, he watched as the tiny worms wiggled along his veins, expanding the blue lines along his arms and squeezing out through his nails. Individually, they were tiny. Dozens would need to press together just to create the thickness of a strand of spaghetti, but they were long.

Converging on the meat rot, they began to devour—their bodies still partially hidden beneath his skin.

The meat rot's granite-like surface melted away in seconds as hundreds of worms latched to it. Within a minute, it was gone.

Satisfied, the worms retreated through his veins, their bodies thrashing through the air like hundreds of little whips as they raced against one another.

Abe could feel their satisfaction. It was undeniable that they had been strengthed. But it wasn’t just physical. He could feel the bond between them forming a deeper foundation.

Don’t make me regret that.

The worms vibrated with a shiver of understanding in return. He was starting to better understand the communications between him and the worms, but they were still vague.

He turned his gaze to the imposing manor perched over atop the hill and then back into town. It could wait a little longer.

Passing into the party building’s foyer, he nodded toward the receptionist and continued through the door. She had raised a hand in protest but quickly withdrew it.

As he pulled the cage door of the elevator open and stepped out, the Chairman turned to him. He was sitting in his chair as he had been last time, but unlike last time, Emil sat opposite.

“Oh, you’ve returned,” Fuhai Bao nodded.

“What’s he doing here?” Abe said, pointing to Emil.

“It’s been a pleasure, Chairman, but I should really get going,” Emil said, rising from the chair.

“Sit down,” Abe barked. “And start talking.”

“Someone needs to collar this pup,” Emil said to the Chairman. “Can you tell him I work for the Mistress?”

“Tell him yourself,” Bao said.

Emil turned his gaze to Abe, “I don’t have to tell him anything. His Mistress can find me when she returns—if she has a problem.”

As Emil rose from his chair, Abe stepped forward, “Sit down.”

“What, you’re a big boy now? You’re new around here, so let me tell you how-”

Abe leaped forward, taking hold of Emil as he plunged his fangs into his neck, ripping away a mouthful of flesh before letting him fall to the ground.

“Mother fucker, he’s gone mad!” Emil shouted, scooting back on the tiles with his heels as blood pooled around him.

“Last chance.”

“Come now, let’s be civil,” Bao said.

Abe snorted and narrowed his gaze at the Chairman, and he bowed.

“Do something!” Emil pleaded.

“Miss Nia isn’t going to punish me over a treacherous weakling like you. Now speak, Emil!”

“What do you mean, speak? You’re insane like the rest of them. I just do business. Help the Mistress with shipments into Strigov. None of this has anything to do with me.”

“Are you sure? Where were you when we were looking for the Man in White?”

“Organizing another shipment. There are always things coming into town. Why do you think she keeps us around? We don’t suck up that energy like you and the other living dead. All we need is food and water, perfect for a shithole like this. Thanks to us, she has a town with power and services. What are you? Some newborn runt that doesn’t understand how anything works.”

Abe turned to Bao, who nodded.

Shit, maybe I overreacted a little.

Grimacing, Abe eyed Emil's wound and turned to Bao, “Is he going to be okay?”

“Emil, show me the wound,” Fuhai Bao said.

Blood spurted as Emil released his hand from the pressure, but it seemed fairly shallow.

“He’ll live. I’ll have him tended to.”

“Sorry,” Abe shrugged.

“Fuck you,” Emil spat.

“I guess I’ll be leaving,” Abe nodded to Bao and turned to leave.

“Can you believe him? He fucking bit me? And I thought that crazy girl was bad enough.”

Shaking his head, Abe stepped into the elevator.

When everything was calm, he would need to figure out how exactly this place worked.

Time to head home, I guess, Abe sighed as he stepped into the icy streets.

“Howdy!” Ricky said as Abe creaked through the door.

Abe raised a silencing finger to his lips.

“What? Oh, quiet, I get you,” Ricky nodded and winked.

“I’m going up, don’t tell Elissa,” Abe mouthed and headed for the stairs.

“You’re going up, and don’t tell Elissa?” Ricky repeated aloud—brow furrowed.

“Shhh!” Abe hissed, eyes darting up the stairs as heavy steps carried down them.

“Oh, my bad,” Ricky said as he hovered away.

“Where is he?” Elissa thundered from above.

“Too late,” Ricky chattered as he disappeared down into the Kennels.

“Thanks,” Abe mouthed with a shake of his head and straightened. He sighed. He might as well get this over with.

“I can sense something foul; what did you do!” she sneered, bounding down the last several steps. Sniffing audibly, Elissa marched within inches of Abe and studied him up and down. “You didn’t, did you?”

“I only did what I had to,” Abe raised his hands defensively.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Thief! I warned you, he was mine!”

“Something is happening, Elissa, and it’s much bigger than the Man in White,” Abe backstepped. “Do you honestly think I should have sat back and done nothing for the sake of your pride?”

“You newborn runt! I decide these things, not you!” she said, slamming a palm into Abe’s chest that sent him skidding back out through the door at his back and into the courtyard.

Keeping balance with an outstretched hand, Abe raised his gaze to Elissa as she stormed out after him.

“Elissa, we’re not enemies. Something big is happening. The Man in White was a mercenary. He said he was just a pawn. Even the Chairman thinks something is going on.”

She paused a couple of meters from him, lip quivering, “Speak quick, runt! What is this big thing?”

“Look, I don’t know exactly. Apparently, the Man in White was tricked. Sent here with no way to return.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told you, I don’t know exactly. But someone is behind all this, and they’re not just some weakling. Who knows, maybe they are even a match for the Miss Nia.”

“Ricky!”

Smiling, Ricky floated from the hall to the Kennels, “Yes?”

“The maggot, think there’s any truth to his words?”

“There are some disturbances, what they are exactly-”

“Ricky!” Elissa turned to him, brow bent, “Speak plain and fast!”

“You know, I’ve been caught up with repairs,” Ricky stammered. “It’s no easy thing reading tethers and Astral spikes, even worse when your stupid instruments are not working correctly…”

“Ricky, what have you seen?” Elissa said, slowing her words.

“It looked like nothing at first, a convergence, you know, just another anomaly. You don’t understand what it’s like looking at these things. Blips show up all the time. But the thing is, it’s still there. A persistent dot blinking way, tethering us to the Vale.”

“And why didn’t you tell us?” Elissa jerked her head towards him.

“Like I said, these anomalies, they’re happening all the time. Normally, something of this size is meaningless. It’s just that it’s still there…”

“What do you mean? What the hell is an anomaly?”

“It means you might not be full of shit, runt,” Elissa growled.

“The link is small,” Ricky said. “Nothing to be concerned about by itself. It’s that other stuff that’s concerning. Gross. Living sap from the Dreamscape, probably. They’re doing something with it.”

“So, you knew,” Elissa sneered.

“No, listen,” Ricky shook. “You two have been stomping it around through here. I can smell it. It wasn’t until recently that I figured they might be linked. Even now, I don’t really understand it. All I know is it’d be best we find a way to clean it up before the Mistress returns.”

“You think it's the same sap those black cloaks spilled when they died and were smeared across their base?” Abe said, turning to Elissa.

“Bastards!” Elissa roared. “The villagers were a distraction. Those maggots wanted us to believe the sap was being used to hide the zombies.”

“You don’t think they were using it to hide?” Abe tilted his head.

“Those tunnels stretch across the entire valley, maggot. They were probably using them to spread the sap.”

“Yeah, that makes a lot of sense,” Ricky nodded thoughtfully.

“I’m going to crush that skull of yours when I’m done,” Elissa began to storm away.

“Wait, wait,” Ricky yelled, bringing her to a halt. “The anomalies, I found them. There are several of them scattered around the valley. They look like some channeling beacons. They might be…”

“Idiot!” Elissa sneered. “You knew! If something happens, god help me.”

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that,” Ricky grinned.

“Where are they, you useless skull?!”

“It’s the sap. If you can find concentrations of that, you should be able to find the tethers. Just look for whatever that stuff is you’ve been stomping around here.”

“Useless!” Elissa growled, turning to leave. “I’ll deal with this myself. And you,” she said, turning to Abe. “Next time you get in my way, I rip your arms off.”

“Noted,” Abe said, waiting for her to leave before turning to Ricky. “You really fucked that up.”

“Everyone’s on old Ricky’s case!”

Shaking his head, Abe sniffed the air. It didn’t take him long to catch something and move in the opposite direction to where he heard the Lada splattering off.

He had four blessed bullets left and decided to remove them. Not because he was scared of killing himself anymore but because they were too valuable to use carelessly. He was already annoyed at himself for getting carried away and using two to finish off the Man in White.

Reloading the magnum with regular ammunition, Abe spun the cylinder for effect and holstered it.

As the scents filled his senses, a gnawing within awoke his little parasites. They were wiggling around within. Something had awoken them.

What is it? What do you little bastards want?

It was access to his thoughts. The wiggling worms sent vibrations tickling along his nerves. It wasn’t as if he understood them as if they were a person speaking to him, but rather a general sense of what they wanted.

Do you want to connect with me? They sent back an excitable vibration. Abe hesitated a moment. Am I really considering letting those little parasites into my brain? You little bastards better not be tricking me. Sighing, he relaxed his shoulders. I better not regret this. Don’t forget I’m still the one in control, okay?

The sensations they sent back were warm and fuzzy.

Oh, fine, for fuck’s sake. Here you go, Abe shook his head and took a deep breath, trying to claim his mind.

He wasn’t sure how exactly he was supposed to share with them, but after a few deep breaths in and out and a trip to his happy place, he felt them invading deeper.

The world thumped, and veins of black and purple, followed by bursts of color, lit his surroundings. It was as if a new sense had been awoken within him. After a moment, the sky and ground turned perfectly black. The purple veins from early now lined the surfaces of everything. More importantly, huge glowing dots of purple energy were placed on the horizon.

Abe pivoted, trying to understand what the worms were showing him. Scanning the purple energy signals, Abe noted that one appeared to be where he had found the submarine and the Man in White.

Circling, he found the biggest pulsating cloud of purple energy below the manor. It had to have been several times the size of the others, and it emitted a haze of energy that doubled its size.

Shaking his head and taking another deep breath, he tried to relax. His chest heaved several times, and he opened his eyes. The black receded as color returned to his surroundings.

Tilting his head, he narrowed his gaze. In an instant, the purple lines returned. Abe relaxed and then dissipated once more. It was a strange feeling, like an instinctual sense he had always possessed had just been flicked on.

If the glow coming from the mountain is the black orb… then what’s below the manor? Is it the well? And if it is, what the hell are those others? One.. two.. Abe turned as he counted the glowing spots. Eight. There are eight of them. So, the orb creates tethers somehow. And tethers are somehow related to the well. Note: remember to ask Ricky about that. Then, the other eight are likely related to tethers, the Astral Vale, or whatever. And if the anomalies are related to the Astral Vale… Fuck it, I’ll just go find out what they are myself.

He stared at the huge pulsating light beneath the manor momentarily before turning back to the purple lights on the horizon.

He wanted to turn around and demand answers from Ricky. Try to wrap his brain around this mind fuck of a place, but it seemed like that would have to wait.

Sighing, Abe dashed across the manor grounds and passed by the surrounding walls into the nearby fields.

He spotted the uncanny scarecrow swaying in the wind he had seen from his bedroom and gave it a salute. There was something about it—another question for later.

Continuing toward the purple dot that he had picked randomly, a question lingered: what was it that the worms had illuminated in purple?

It was related to the tethers, of course—but what was the actual source of the light? He had heard enough whispers of energy to get the feeling it was important and wondered if he had unlocked the ability to see it.

Within minutes, he had cleared distant fields, running at an inhuman speed. He found himself facing an old, partially collapsed cottage. The front half was essentially just a pile of broken timbers sunken beneath the snow.

He saw the purple light glowing through the dilapidated building and carefully approached its rear. Behind the building, a timber door swayed in the wind, tapping against its frame.

There was something inside. But it was calm, and he sensed no malice.

I guess I’m going in; Abe caught the door and slipped through.

Several black cloaks stood perfectly still within the rubbled interior.

“Who’d have guessed,” Abe mouthed as he walked up to the robed figures and waved a hand in front of their faces. “Not so talkative anymore, are you?”

Walking through the room, he noticed more of them standing still in the adjoining rooms. " It's a little bit creepy, but I suppose I can’t complain about not being attacked.”

He continued through a short corridor that ran through the middle of the partially collapsed building, stepping over or through mounds of snow as he made his way.

Abe tilted his head as he entered the last room of the hall. Lying on a threadbare, weatherworn bed was a thin black shard. There was no mistaking what it was. He could see the purple energy flowing from it. Its brittle edges looked as if it might break if handled poorly.

“You might have the same energy as the orb, but you don’t have much else alike, do you?” Abe reached for the shard.

The black cloaks lurched forward as he took the shard, their glowing blue eyes following his hand that held it, but they didn’t attack.

“You don’t care if I take this?” Abe said, turning to the black cloaks beside him.

They didn’t answer.

“You weirdos creep me out a lot more when you’re quiet, you know that?” he mouthed. Looking down at the brittle shard in his palm, a desire to crush it flooded through him.

“Seems wasteful…” he muttered, bringing it up to his eyes. “Surely I can use you for something?”

A surge of energy rippled out from the worms as if reacting to his question. They wanted it for themselves. He could feel them, humming with a similar energy to when he had held the meat rot.

“Feeding you things is meant to be hard, isn’t it?” Abe mouthed. He eyed the shard carefully, “The Man in White did create you, didn’t he? And he was a necromancer…” Abe relaxed, sending an approving ripple of energy toward the worms.

Watching his forearm, he felt the worms wiggle to life, and a moment later, they began to enlarge his veins as they traveled toward his palm.