As soon as James grabbed the staff above him, he was already moving toward the next. There was no time to waste. If he stood still for a moment the assassin would strike him.

For added protection, James sent out paths of intent to mask his ascent. Needles flew upward as James scrambled. Many missed, fooled by James’s distraction, but others came in his direction. He saw where his line and the needles would meet and changed his path by yanking on a nearby staff.

The metallic pole freed itself with another quick thumb swipe, slowing James and giving him a defensive weapon to work with. He shook the loose gravel off and hooked the staff between two others before swinging himself over to a staff hanging from the wall. He blocked the needles that came his way with a spin of his staff before continuing upward.

James continued to climb, using more bursts of intent. While he’d improved in managing his Metastate, each use of his ability caused him to overheat a bit more. James wasn’t in the danger zone, not yet, but if he couldn’t make it up the wall and onto the roof soon he’d be in trouble.

The climb was steady despite James being accosted by needles. They seemed to increase as James climbed as well, more and more flying upward to try and hit him. James countered with blocks and reckless, instinctive leaps, the moves barely keeping him ahead of his attacker.

Finally, James reached the roof. He grabbed the ledge and twisted himself over onto the concrete. A quick glance showed no one nearby, so James took half a second to catch his breath before looking down the alley.

The assassin stood down below in the jungle gym of pipes. She looked up at him emotionlessly for a moment before walking to the nearest staff. With barely an effort, the woman lifted herself up on the staffs to start climbing after James.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” James complained. Why couldn’t this woman just give up? She had to know she couldn’t catch him now, right?

The doubt in James’s thoughts had him picking himself off the ground and sprinting. He was confident he could lose the assassin if he made it out of sight. No one could beat him in running.

There was a screeching noise, like the sounds of the welder that James sometimes saw in the tower. Only this was much louder. James doubled down, running faster and leaping off the roof toward another in the distance. He turned to look back as he did.

The assassin stood on the roof behind him, fire spewing from her legs. The ground lay scorched as she hovered over the roof, her eyes training toward James. She launched herself at the fleeing man, moving with an unnatural stabilized flight.

James landed in a roll on the other roof, springing up and securing a staff in the ground while pulling out another in its shadow. Sure enough, James saw the lines from the incoming needles strike his staff. Then, the assassin was upon him again.

Fire rushed at James as the assassin halted her movement. He jumped back, feeling the heat lick at his boots. He secured his staff to the ground and used it to move perpendicular. The assassin’s head followed as if it was on a swivel, James catching the emotionless eyes. He saw the woman’s hand flash out, needles ejecting from under her fingernails to fly at him.

James ducked, thumbing the release on his staff and falling into a roll. He popped up and swung the staff in a wide arc, hoping to catch the assassin. She ducked the blow, silencing the screeching rockets on her legs. Mechanical plates moved, returning her body back to its initial state even as she sent another attack James’s way.

Except, no needles appeared.

The woman frowned in mild surprise. James smiled in relief. He didn’t have to worry about the crazy amount of needles anymore, and with how close she was he might be able to knock her out with his martial arts.

James made to move forward, only to hastily bring his staff up when he saw the woman point at him.

He caught the hole at the tip of her finger before he heard the bang.

In the Metastate, James saw glimpses of the incoming attack, a small spiraling piece of metal aimed straight for his eye. His staff was already in the way, the knob poised to block the blow.

It shattered. James felt a hot, painful blow run up and to the left of his skull. He found himself on the ground, ears ringing and vision blurry.

Something—maybe that piece of metal—had struck him in the head. He touched his forehead, feeling the flowing blood and bits of embedded staff. The assassin walked up to him, a small dagger popping out from under her wrist.

James tried to bring his staff up to defend but only succeeded in slightly moving his arm. The world kept swimming, and James knew he was about to pass out. He willed himself to stay awake, to fight until the last second. His hand moved a few more inches.

The assassin pushed the staff away and brought the knife down.

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A hand caught it. James looked up in confusion to see his master above him. Despite his delirium, he smiled.

The assassin pointed her finger at Nadia but before she could attack James’s master whipped an arm out. Water flashed, slicing through the assassin’s arm. Even as the appendage fell Nadia was on the move, coming in behind the assassin in moments. James caught her grabbing something on the back of the assassin’s neck before his vision started to grow dark.

He felt himself fall into a pair of hands.

“You are safe,” he heard his master say.

James passed out.

__

He was back in the imaginary world, that much James was certain of. There were changes, however. Chandra’s grave had been moved from its place in Resplendent Jade and placed in a slightly nicer area. Barish stood guard over the urn of ashes, his eyes continuously wet with tears.

“Oh, so we’re back here again,” James said with a sigh.

He had hoped to avoid this. He doubly hoped his mental hitchhiker wasn’t about to ask if he’d had any progress in researching Chandra’s death. If James was being honest, he’d all but forgotten his promise to this ghost. There were a thousand other things that kept taking up his attention.

“I would have done a better job,” Barish said.

“What?” James asked.

“The fight. I would have done better,” Barish said again. “You were sloppy.”

“Well excuse me for being incompetent,” James said with a huff. “Is this another give me your body speech? Because if it is I’m finding a way to get out of here right now.”

Barish shook his head. “No. I’ve given up on that. Instead, I thought of a compromise.”

James crossed his arms. “Oh, this’ll be good.”

Barish stood, using his robes to wipe away some of the tears that fell on Chandra’s ashes. “I’ll teach you how to use my power as long as you promise to get revenge for me.”

“No way,” James said instantly. He didn’t trust the offer for a moment.

Barish scowled. “You need me! What you need is immeasurable power! Power that instills fear and ensures none will attack you! This, pathetic excuse for cultivation cannot save you when real danger is present!”

“I survived that tiger just fine, didn’t I?” James argued.

“Only because you were not its first target!” Barish sneered. “If you were, you would be dead before your precious master could save you.”

The ghost of a cultivator walked forward, pressing a finger into James’s chest. “How long until you can’t be saved? How long until someone more powerful than your master attacks? Admit it, at your current rate you’ll be dead by next month.”

James rolled his eyes. “Big words from the guy who my master beat. And come to think of it, wouldn’t that make her stronger than you? Why would your teachings make me stronger then?”

“You’re master assaulted me with a team!” Barish spat. “If it were a duel I would have won with ease.”

James didn’t believe it for a second. “Something tells me that’s not the case. You know what I bet? I bet they were trying to take you alive in the first place, otherwise Master would have sliced you up. You would have been a slaughtered pig, split into pieces before you could think.”

Barish scoffed. “Believe what you want. But know that my path is the stronger one! With it, you will take everything you need until none can threaten you again!”

The ghost looked at him. “Maybe then you could protect yourself, your lover, and anyone else who matters.”

“This conversation is over,” James said with a snort.

He turned to leave, looking for the pinprick of light that appeared the last time he fell into this state.

“The offer will stay open, James,” Barish said as the man walked away. “At some point, you’ll seek me out.”

“Not likely,” James muttered under his breath.

While James sympathized with Barish, he wasn’t about to trust someone that spent years murdering others and taking their bodies. Barish’s voice faded as James walked away. Eventually, he spied the pinprick of light and moved toward it.

The world swam back into focus. He was in one of Nadia’s rooms by the look of it. He could tell from the mix of minimalist and naturalist fashion. Single plants, immaculately cut, lay in pots around the room in perfect position.

Tsukiko’s face appeared before him as he looked around, concern on her face.

“Oh no, I’m scarred for life aren’t I?” James asked. “My dashing good looks are forever gone and you have to leave me.”

She slapped him, gently and without force. “Idiot.”

She looked away, but James caught the sniff.

“I was always going to be fine,” James said, sitting up to place a hand on her shoulder. “I let Master know where I was as soon as it happened.”

Tsukiko looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Me too,” James answered. He wrapped Tsukiko in a hug. Surprisingly, there was no pain. Not even on his head.

“Wow, medicine here is crazy,” James said as he ran a hand over where he’d been hit.

“The perks of credits, disciple,” Nadia said.

James nodded to his master. “What happened after I passed out? I saw you slice that assassin’s arm off and then do something to her neck.”

“I subdued the assailant with that last attack, breaking the connection between her and her controller,” Nadia said.

“Her controller?” James asked.

Nadia gave a grave nod. “One of the more deplorable tactics used by assassins is to groom others and place controlling talismans in them. They pilot them from a distance to ensure they are in no danger.”

James groaned. “Great, just what I needed.”

“I am unsure why you were targeted,” Nadia said. “But I can suspect.”

James winced. “Um, I think I know.”

Nadia raised an eyebrow.

“Remember when I told you about Peregrine? Well, he also said his brother had hired assassins to take me out. Something about restoring his honor. I kinda forgot to mention it when we were talking because I was more concerned about the teen.”

“I see,” Nadia answered.

James looked surprised. “What, that’s it?”

He looked over at Tsukiko, the woman fuming. “Shouldn’t you be as upset as her?”

“I believe she is plenty upset for the both of us,” Nadia answered. “And I’m sure that in the moment of our talk the thought of assassins left your mind completely.”

James nodded. He looked over to Tsukiko, who was studiously glaring at him.

“I know,” James said. “I shouldn’t have forgotten, but I got caught up in thinking Osman was going to experiment on that kid.”

“Well, at least we have a lead,” Nadia said. “Before anything else, I must ask. Would Peregrine be willing to corroborate your testimony?”

James shook his head. “He’s too concerned about losing a friend over this.”

Tsukiko snorted. “Keeping a killer as a friend, such a great idea.”

“No matter,” Nadia said. “I will look into this. In the meantime, ask me whenever you must leave the sect. While you did admirably against the assassin it is not prudent to let you be alone in the coming days.”

“Especially not with the games coming up,” James said.

“Especially not then,” Nadia answered.