Lekan didn't move.

For all my bravado, neither did I.

Three of the monstrous creatures circled us, keening a tune that troubled the night. I eyed them warily. The breath hitched in my throat.

“Are you with the Four-oh-Four?” Lekan asked.

“No!” I said. A shiver wracked my form. Pain thudded like a heartbeat up my arm.

“Why did you follow me then? Why did you come here? You almost died!”

I laughed, hoarsely at first, then louder until my throat turned raw.

The rats chattered around Lekan, visibly agitated. Now that we were out in the open, they weren't as big as I initially thought. Bigger than full-grown grizzlies, sure, and top-heavy to boot. But without the shadows cloaking their forms, they looked a little less ominous.

Lekan rubbed the fur of the monster nearest to him, posture the tiniest bit guarded. The two other beasts inched closer to me. One nipped at my foot, and I scrambled backward, ending my laughter. Shame flooded my veins.

“Call them off,” I said, baring teeth.

“You haven't told me who you are.”

“Call them off or I swear, I will feed you their corpses.”

Lekan made a noise in his throat. He balled his fists, then loosened them and barked an order at the rats. “You are the one, aren't you? The one who showed up at the Center today?”

I didn't reply.

“What's your problem?” he asked. “What do you even want with me?”

“I wanted to help you, you fool,” I hissed, letting my anger fly. “The Four-oh-Four is coming for you. They plan to attack tonight.”

Lekan tensed. “They don't know where to find me.”

“And that makes you safe, doesn't it?” I followed the jibe with laughter. It sounded shrill to my ears. “I found you. They will do same too. You underestimate the kind of enemies you have made.”

Lekan took a moment to consider my words. “No. I've been careful . . . but that makes you a loose end. I can’t let you leave.”

Another type of chill took me. I had forgotten, hadn't I? I was talking to a murderer.

“Your cousin sent me,” I said.

“Lies.”

The three rats advanced.

“I’m not lying! Your fucking cousin sent me.”

Lekan looked unfazed. “You're SRA. I am familiar with your tricks.”

“Will you shut up just this once?” I pushed past the fear and rose to my feet. “I’m with the Hero Council. AV begged me to help you. He's the one who told me you frequented the Luminary Center as kids.”

“I have no reason to believe you. I haven't spoken to my cousin in ages.”

“So, you’ll just kill me then?” I swung my arms in agitation. They flared up, and bright lights seared my skull. “It's nothing new to you at this point, eh? Just more of the same.”

That was unwise. I shouldn't hagride the known killer, but I was past the point of rationality now. If he sicced those monsters on me, I would kill him, even if I died in the process.

Lekan didn't move a muscle. “I didn't kill those people,” he said, barely audible enough to be heard.

I held my breath.

“AV, huh?” He shook his head. “That's what my cousin goes by these days? I always told him it was a good name. Much better than his usual choice: Monitor.” He whistled at the rats.

They slunk back to him.

“You're a Super, yeah?” Lekan asked. “If you promise not to engage in any funny business, I have a med kit inside the house. Assuming you want my help.”

I had a million things I wanted. Greatest of all was to flip off both cousins and head straight to bed. But that was a luxury I couldn't afford. I was badly wounded and bore a million aches, all of which made themselves known now that the adrenaline dissipated. I also had to finish my mission, regardless of what I thought about it now.

Lekan started back to the house, not waiting for an answer. I hobbled after him, pausing to retrieve my boot. The beasts parted for me to pass, snarling as they did. One sniffed at my ankle.

“Get these bastards off!”

Lekan glanced over his shoulder. “They won't hurt you.”

“Would you like me to hurt them?”

He made that noise in his throat again and whistled. The rats scampered up to his side.

We entered the building. My bandolier lay discarded near the doors, and I picked it up and slung it over my shoulder. Lekan stopped at the sight of the corpse inside.

“You killed her,” he said, inhaling sharply.

“Gladly.” I drew the neck gaiter up to my face. “It was either me or them.”

Squeaks came from deeper within the building. A fourth dark shape ambled toward us. Lekan crouched beside it, whispering into its ear. The rat whimpered, and the sharp scent of blood rose to join the other smells.

Heh. I did that. I had wounded the grotesqueries as much as they'd wounded me.

We continued onward until we arrived at the entrance to a small room. Lekan went in first, flipping the switch on a rechargeable lantern. The rats cantered down the corridor but didn't stray too far. Their laborious breaths filled the dark, staying just out of sight.

“You can come in,” Lekan said.

The room was empty save for a cabinet and a long, moldy couch. Lekan gestured to the latter, then washed himself off in a large basin by the side. Two normal-sized rats stood on the arm of the couch, but they fled for the door on my approach. The stench of wet garbage assaulted my nostrils—a smell that pervaded the entirety of the building. I sneezed.

Lekan shrugged at the expression on my face. “Meat,” he said. “They have to eat.”

I wiped at my nose. In the light of the lamp, I could finally discern his features. He was tall and fair-skinned, with a frame so tightly wound, the flesh seemed corded around his bones. Tattoos lined his arms, a recent addition that hadn't been present in the pictures AV had sent. Wild hair fanned out in a black tangle on his head.

Lekan scratched his hair and ducked into the cabinet. He returned with a med-kit. “Let me see your arm.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The sleeve on my left arm was punctured in two places and stuck to my skin, gummy with blood. In contrast, the rest of my costume hung intact.

“You've had your shots?” he asked, studying the wound.

“Yeah.”

Bile tossed around in my gut. I'd been bitten by rats. Rats. All sorts of illnesses could be at play. Rat-bite fever? Lassa? Rabies? Oh god, no. Tetanus was probably the least of my problems.

“Can't get this off,” Lekan murmured, working a scissors through the arm sleeve.

The tool came away with blood. More drops dotted the floor. He tried again, a bit too harshly, and I hissed, stopping myself from launching him into a wall.

“Sorry,” he said. “Puncture wound's pretty deep. You might also have a fracture.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“It could have been worse. The rats were ordered to avoid lethal force.”

“You call what they did non-lethal?”

“They didn't do anything,” Lekan said. “They were ordered to stand guard, and you poked the rodents’ nest, so to speak.” He got his scissors into a tear and grunted as the rest of the arm sleeve fell away. “I don't think anyone has ever hurt them like that. They are built to be pretty durable.”

“Your cousin told me you controlled rats. He didn't tell me you turned them to freaking reapers of death.”

“I still control rats,” Lekan said, humming midsentence. “But it's been a difficult year.” He kicked the basin into position beneath my arm and doused the latter with a sachet of water. “What do you know about Metamorphosis?”

A lot, courtesy of Catherine, but I didn't answer.

Lekan took my silence for ignorance. “It's basically a second Emergence,” he said, lathering my wounds with soap. “During Emergence, you awaken your latent abilities when put through a psychological blender. During Metamorphosis, your abilities evolve when pushed to the limit. You can say if Emergence applies to people, Metamorphosis applies to powers. The latter happened to me.” He shot me a look. “Brace yourself. I'm going to try to locate the fracture.”

“Huh—” A scream clawed out of my throat, shocking even me. Lekan poked around my bruise. The next moment, he rocketed across the floor.

“What did you hit me with?” he gasped.

“Something insufficient. I should have turned you to paste for—”

One of the monsters stalked into the room. Lekan waved it off. The creature squeaked and cast baleful glances at me. It was a gruesome thing, with fur that bristled like barbs interspersed with bulbous growths of fluid. Its muscular legs were tipped with knives, and a banded tail, longer even than its main body, spilled out behind it.

AV had mentioned that Lekan had telepathic control over rodents, but that didn't seem to be the case. If anything, he largely operated through commands and signals. A weakness I could exploit in a fight.

I averted my gaze as the abomination receded and cleared my throat. “So, you Metamorphosed from a Queen into what? A Rook?”

Lekan rose to his feet. “Technically, I am both now. Powers don't change during evolution. They expand.”

“And this building? Is it a part of your power set too?”

Lekan didn't so much as crack a smile. “No. I am only borrowing it in the interim. There are lots of unfinished projects in the area. Perfect grounds to breed my rats.” He squinted at me. “Can I come closer now?”

I shrugged. Talking was getting harder with each passing moment. It didn't help that my arm felt like it had a nail in it. Or three.

“You have a fracture in the diaphyseal point,” Lekan said, inspecting my arm.

“Meaning?”

“Your humerus broke in the mid area.” He wiped the limb down with gauze. “Your costume is robust; you would have been hurt far worse otherwise. The bite also missed your brachial artery. All in all, you've escaped a few complications.” He placed a gauze pack on the wound. “Apply mild pressure with this.”

I did.

He ruffled in his kit, procuring more gauze. “This is no substitute for medical treatment. Your bone has been fractured, and the wounds are deep enough to enclose infections. You’ll also need to be monitored for diseases.”

He bound my arm with gauze and retreated to his cabinet. A carton stood on one end of the base, and he tore into it, procuring cardboard.

“This isn't your first time fixing injuries,” I observed.

“It isn't. It's a skill you pick up if you intend to survive.” He returned to my side and held the cardboards up against my arm. “We'll make do with this,” he said. “It's a bit dusty though. Hold on.” He wiped the boards down, then cambered them into an L shape.

The boards went along my arm, stopping near my fingers. He adjusted them into a comfortable position, then wrapped them with medical tape, securing the splint. He pinched my fingers and nodded at the reaction. Satisfied, he cut long strips of cloth from the couch’s slipcover and tied them into a sling.

I touched the final work tentatively, hissing when it stung.

“It's a fracture,” Lekan said, binding my arm to my torso. “Of course, it will hurt.” He tucked a roll of gauze beneath my injured hand. “How’s the splint? Too tight?”

“No. It's fine.” My ribs pulsed beneath my vest. I was about to lay a complaint when Lekan pressed the scissors against my neck.

“Now that the necessary bit is done with,” he said, “I believe I've helped you enough. You are going to tell me what AV is playing at.”

The fumes within me had all but petered out, leaving nothing to ignite my ire. I sighed. “I thought we agreed on no funny business?”

He raised the scissors to my eye. “Is this still funny?”

I snorted. “Put that rubbish away. I’ll get AV on phone.”

He didn’t budge.

I muffled a curse and fished my phone from my pocket. It came up near crunched in half. A spiderweb of cracks danced across the screen. “This is so not my day.”

Lekan looked at me almost sympathetically. “Voice access?”

I toggled the volume keys on the device. It refused to come on. Really, CAH? Who needs costumes that could survive giant rat teeth, if their cell phones were going to end up shattered anyway?

I shoved the crappy thing into my pocket. “Look, Lekan. Your cousin wants you out of town tonight. End of. He's hired a van to ferry you out to any state of your choice and roped me, his teammate, into seeing it through. It’s a sweet deal. Take it. You won't survive the night if you decide to stick around.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“The Four-oh—”

“I know exactly what the Four-oh-Four is capable of.” He cocked his head. “Do you?”

I recalled the detonations back at the warehouses in Mutu Minna. Kabash’s warnings didn’t leave room for ambiguity. “More than you know.”

Lekan dropped the scissors. He gathered his tools and wiped them down with antiseptic. “Then you know why I cannot leave. After the explosion, the Four-oh-Four moved in on these people like a pack of vultures. They took their homes, their businesses, their lands—threw entire families out on the streets. Someone needs to fight back, and I have. I won't stop now.”

“Noble,” I said, shaking my head. “But you’re missing the point. Newtown is tiny. If you start a fight of that magnitude here, chances are, it will spiral out of control. You've angered the Four-oh-Four. You're wanted by the SRA, and the CAH is obliged to bring you in. How do you intend to handle all three at the same time?”

Lekan rolled the gauze into a neat bundle. “I do not care for any of that. Tell my cousin I am grateful for his offer but will have to decline. I won’t abandon my principles in the face of danger.”

“This is all because of the Center, isn't it?”

Lekan glanced at me.

“I saw the demolition sign out front,” I answered the un-worded question. “The Luminary building is one of the land allocations targeted by the Four-oh-Four, yeah?”

“I will not let them have it,” Lekan said, and the words were delivered so matter-of-factly they were nothing but the truth.

“I discussed with AV,” I said. “The Center most likely didn't break any rules in its construction. If the Four-oh-Four got it marked for demolition by skullduggery, AV believes he can turn things around.”

Lekan froze.

“You don't need to risk your life and your freedom by hanging around,” I pressed. “Your very presence threatens to escalate an already dicey situation. If you really attacked the Four-oh-Four with those creatures of yours”—and I shivered at the thought of their horrible maws—“then you can bet the syndicate will bring more firepower than they know what to do with. Guns, Supers. You name it. This won't end well if you keep fighting. Not for you. Or the Center. Or all of Sagidi.”

I had him. I could see it in the slouch of his shoulders and the slight quiver of his lips. People who stayed courageous in the face of death still wavered when reminded of the loved ones they could lose.

A cell phone rang—Lekan’s.

“Hello,” he answered, moving to the far wall for privacy.

Loud chatter came from the other end of the phone. Lekan's face went through a series of rapid-fire changes. It paled in shock, then twisted with apprehension, and finally, darkened in fury. I didn't need to eavesdrop to know that something terrible had occurred. Something with enough potential to ruin my day.

Lekan whispered a few urgent words into the phone and lowered the device. He turned weary eyes to me.

Fuck.

“Our conversation is over,” he said.

I leaped to my feet. “What's going on?”

The taller teen riffled through his cabinet. “The gangsters are here. They've torched East-end and are setting fires to the houses as we speak.”

Shit. “They are trying to smoke you out.”

“They have succeeded.” He donned an overcoat and strapped a wine-colored plague doctor's mask to his face.

“You can't leave,” I said, hobbling toward him. “You are playing right into their hands. You go out there to confront them, and you are done. It will all be over!”

“Then what should I do?” he asked, and for one second, his defenses fell.

I ran a hand through my hair. The Four-oh-Four loved proving their callousness, but this just took the cake. How much disregard did they hold for lives and property, if they could raze an entire area in search of one man? “Retreat,” I said. “Get out of here. The Heroes will handle this crisis. I promise.”

“You want me to walk away from this,” Lekan said, voice measured, “whilst knowing I am their target? You want me to leave my friends and the entire area to burn?”

Well, yes. “They won't burn. AV is monitoring the situation. He should be sending assistance right as we speak.”

“Do you have anyone precious to you?”

I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

“Then you are full of shit.” He whirled out of the room and joined his monstrosities at the door.

I stood alone by the couch, surrounded by thousands of little footsteps scampering across the house. For the umpteenth time today, I had come within the grasp of victory, only to be left with the bitter taste of defeat.