Metal echoed as Abe landed in the narrow, musky corridor. Her purple dot of energy remained unmoving.

You’re probably waiting for me, aren’t you?

Groaning, Abe continued down the creaking metal.

“Elissa, it’s me… Don’t suppose you’re down for a chat?”

No reply came.

“We did it, by the way, or rather, I did. The anomalies have been dealt with. I’m sure Mistress Nia is going to be happy.”

Silence followed as Abe passed through the first bulkhead, “Are you going to reply?” You creepy bitch.

Snickering echoed from ahead, stopping shortly after it began. Silence returned, interrupted only by a dip.

“Elissa?” Abe passed through the second bulkhead. “Come on, this is getting weird.”

Metal groaned, and chains dingled, swinging Abe’s attention to the left.

Nothing.

The purple dot hadn’t moved, and Abe shook his head as he sighed.

“Come on, Elissa, enough with the games. We’re on the same side, remember?”

Pausing momentarily, Abe waited for a reply, but none came. He sighed and passed through the final bulkhead.

His gray vision lined the control room with hazy detail but spotted no sign of Elissa. Tilting his head suspiciously, he eyed the orb. There was only one glowing purple dot now, and it belonged to the orb. Not that it mattered; he could smell her within the room. Besides, he’d have sensed her leaving even if he couldn't.

“I know you’re in here, Elissa. I might be new to all of this, but my senses aren’t so weak anymore. Just show yourself already; we can talk this out.”

Silence.

“Oh, come on, for fucks sake!”

He stepped deeper into the control room and scanned the surroundings.

The worms stirred as he approached the orb, but it wasn’t hunger. They were intrigued by the strange object. A reminder that they were very much infants like himself in this strange existence beyond the grave.

“You don’t know what the hell this thing is either, do you?” Abe mouthed as he hovered his hand over the orb. The worms slithered free from his nails, dozens of them swaying as they curiously aimed at the orb.

“Elissa, what’s going on?”

The pull the orb had on him earlier was gone. Had it, or had he changed?

“Have you done something, Elissa?”

“Have I done something?” A guttural croak came from the shadows. “You were going to keep it all for yourself, weren’t you?”

“Elissa,” Abe eyed the shadows. He could see it now. She had hidden her energy signal at the back of the room, with the orb. “We did it. The anomalies have been dealt with.”

“Don’t change the subject, maggot!”

“I wasn’t trying to keep anything. I don’t even know what this thing is. Come on now, let’s talk.”

“Shut your lying mouth!” Elissa crept forward, the shadow still masking most of her figure.

“I’m not lying, Elissa. Listen to yourself. I’m new; I don’t even know what any of this is.”

“Why should I? You lied about the Man in White. You lied about those filthy things squirming around under your skin. Why wouldn’t you lie about his?”

“I promise you, I’m not,” Abe raised his hands defensively. “I’ve only done what I think I should. A lot has happened in a very short time; trust me, it’s all confusing as fuck.”

“You’re a liar, maggot. You might have tricked the Mistress with your pretty looks, but not me,” she shook her head, stepping out from the shadows.

“I’m not tricking anybody.”

“You planned to steal this vessel for yourself, admit it!” she growled, stepping closer. “You planned to travel the tether and escape into the Vale, wasn’t it?”

“How the fuck does that make sense, Elissa? I still need Nia’s blood.”

“How should I know,” Elissa spat. “I don’t think like a liar and a thief!”

“I didn’t even know what this thing was until now. Heck, I barely understand what the fuck the Vale is or these damn tethers people keep talking about.”

“DON’T PLAY DUMB!”

“I’m not, I swear!”

“Your lies have no power here! I see through your treacherous veil.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Elissa, please!” Abe stepped back. “Everything I’ve done is for the Mistress and the manor.”

“Shut your lying mouth. You’ve been caught, maggot.”

The purple light emanating from her chest flared, giving Abe a fraction of a second’s warning as she dipped and leaped toward him.

Twisting, Abe drew his blade up to block, supported by his revolver as she flashed forward, double-axe aimed at his throat.

The warning had saved his head, but the blade still cut an inch into his neck. Jumping back out of range, Abe felt the worms rushing toward his wound. Several of them acted as threads, closing the wound and stopping the bleeding.

You can heal me as well? Okay, now that’s something.

“So, that’s what the strange smell is, parasites,” Elissa said, narrowing her brow and curling her lip as she began to swing the axes in her hands. “I can’t believe after everything she gave you; you would defile that perfect body she gave you with parasites. Ungrateful maggot. Dealing with you will be a favor for the Mistress.”

“It’s not like I had a choice,” Abe grunted, touching the wound across his neck. “But they’ve come in handy.”

“You’re going to squeal, maggot!”

Not good.

Elissa shot forward as Abe fell back through the bulkhead. She attempted an attack, but the closed space forced her into swinging with only one of her axes, which Abe was able to block.

Pushing the axe away with his sword, Abe aimed the magnum and fired as he stumbled back through the corridor. The boom was followed by dinging metal.

Elissa growled, and Abe jumped back to his feet, waving his sword defensively.

He missed. And another miss might give her the opportunity to close the distance and sever his head. Instead, he backed off—both sword and gun pointed at her.

She watched as he backed out, letting him go unchallenged, her axes dragging against the metal.

“Look, we don’t have to do this,” Abe said as he passed through another bulkhead.

Elissa just chuckled, her smile widening.

“Oh, for fuck sake,” Abe groaned as he bumped into the ladder. Turning, he took hold of it and quickly swung his sword back around to ward her off as he climbed. But Elissa just stood back and watched, eyeing him climb from the ground.

Abe rolled as he reached the deck, spinning toward the hatch and jumping to his feet.

Steadying his nerves, he focused his aim on the hatch and continued to create distance.

Yeah, come and get it, you fucked up bitch.

A blurred figure flickered out of the hatch, flying several meters up before falling to the ground in a crouched state, its axes extended to the side.

“Shit, fast!”

Abe backstepped as she snaked forward at incredible speed, his aim unable to catch her.

He tried to focus, but her movement was too fast and erratic.

Bang!

Snow puffed into the air behind her.

“Die!”

She reached him, axes raised high, ready to swoop from both sides.

He moved his sword to block one of the attacks, but the second cut into his side and embedded halfway into his torso.

Fuck!

She kicked, pulling the axe free and sending Abe hurling across the snow.

The worms were already closing his new wound before he stopped moving. But they were closer to a bandaid than actually healing.

Before he could get back to his feet, she was upon him with follow-up strikes, forcing Abe to desperately roll out of the way as they slammed into the frozen ground.

Throwing a handful of snow as he rolled, Abe elicited an irritated grunt from Elissa, but he managed to create enough time to bounce back to his feet and create a little distance.

The axes swung for him again before his brain comprehended his next move.

Roaring, he kicked off against the ground as they closed in. To his surprise, he flew backward faster and further than he could have imagined, escaping Elissa just before he closed into range.

“What the,” he mouthed, feeling the thumping tremors that ran through his body. It was the worms.

“Fast for a maggot,” Elissa shouted as she leaped the distance between them and swung for his head.

Raising his sword with the magnum pressed against them for support, Abe blocked the two axes swinging down on him, their weight compacting the snow beneath his feet. A kick followed, slamming into his chest and sending him flying backward.

Skidding to a stop, Abe raised his pistol and fired. Once, and then again. The bullets burst into clouds of snow as Elissa zigzagged toward him.

“Fucking die!” Abe shouted as he fired for a third time.

“Pathetic!”

He brought his sword up just in time to block an arcing swing for his head while the second axe cut into his chest.

Ichor bubbled as it ran down the axe, and the worms pushed against it as they attempted to protect his body.

Looking down, Elissa’s eyes widened as she realized the gun was pressed against her chest,

Bang!

Chunks of meat burst apart, leaving a hole beneath her shoulder and sending her lurching backward.

One axe remained in Abe, the other in her hand.

Elissa sneered and charged, taking hold of her axe with two hands as she aimed another strike at his head.

Abe fired again, but the pinned triggered to no effect.

“Fuck, empty,” Abe said, discarding the revolver as he gripped his sword with two hands.

Raising the sword above his head, he blocked. She hit hard. The axe’s pressure pushed his sword down against his shoulder and drew blood. A kick followed, sending him sliding back against the snow-covered ground.

She was already leaping toward him, her axe poised to strike again.

“Fuck you!” he roared as a fresh wave of strength pumped into his arms, and he raised the sword to block the incoming axe.

The hilt shook in his hands as he parried the powerful blows, threatening to tear the sword from his grip.

They continued, slamming against his guard one after another, flying faster and harder with each follow-up strike.

The flurry of strikes continued to intensify as Abe was beaten back, the intensity of the fire in Elissa’s eyes increasingly wild.

The strikes battered him down, pushing Abe to his knees as he desperately blocked.

His pupils dilated. This was it. There was nowhere left to run, and Elissa only seemed to get stronger. That was when he felt them.

The worms pulsed. The threat of Abe’s death also threatened them. They were entwined now, for better or worse.

Fear of death had awoken something, and he could feel their symbiotic relationship deepen.

His muscles tensed as he blocked another blow from cleaving his head off. Strength pulsed through his muscles. It was as if they had formed a true union, and he no longer needed to call them for help. Their deathly energy had finished the final step toward binding.

Abe raised his sword in defiance as he blocked another strike, but this time, he wasn’t sent reeling. Instead, he pushed her attack away and straightened back to his feet.

“How?” she growled through gritted teeth as she fixed her grip on the axe.