Siobhan’s eyes locked with Sylvia’s, and despite nearly a year together now, she still felt a slight shiver of excitement at the look of them. The intensity. Brr. Like being on the other end of a bright green foglight, the kind they put on ships, powerful enough to obliterate a half mile of haze. “Ok, repeat after me: in and out, two bagfuls, limited banter.”

“In and out. Two bagfuls. Some banter.”

“Syl-”

“What’s the point of doing this if there’s no banter? Come on, look, there’s just one guy in there. The diamonds are temporary but the memory of the look on this guy’s face is gonna last forever.”

“Isn’t being ‘forever’ kind of a diamond’s whole deal?” Shiv smirked, relenting a little as they pushed their way into the jewelry store. The door chimed as they entered, and a tidy older man behind the desk glanced up from his work.

“Welcome! Sorry to say it’s near closing time, so I don’t know how much I can show you around-”

Sylvia held up a hand, smiling politely. “That’s okay, thank you so much. This is gonna be quick.”

Heart thrumming with excitement--God, this is never not fun--Sylvia approached the glass display desk, several yards long and stocked to the brim with jewelry. She steepled all ten of her fingertips onto the glass and focused, went into what Sylvia was fond of calling “the Vibrazone.” Shiv insisted this name was stupid as hell, which was precisely why she insisted on using the label as much as possible.

A tactile world of resonances and densities unfurled in front of her, an unseen tableau of information, instantly and thoroughly processed in that special corner of her brain. Within moments she had a more complete mental image of the jewelry display than the employee in front of her probably ever did.

“This place, Shane’s, you’re the guys from the ads?” Sylvia asked, friendly. The employee half-smiled, used to this.

“Now you’ve got a friend in the diamond business,” he croaked, an oldish man’s impression of an even older man. “Yeah, we get that a lot.”

“Those things are all over the radio waves around these parts. A little excessive, if you ask me.” Sylvia breathed deep, her analysis complete. She lowered her palms, flat on the glass, and tensed. “So, just out of curiosity, friend-to-friend, you guys have insurance on all this stuff, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“Hey,” Shiv warned. “We already went over this.”

The employee’s eyes flicked between the two of them, noting the backpacks each of the woman wore, really seeing them for the first time. He swallowed. “You mean, liability insurance? On our products?”

“Yeah. Like, some people steal from you, you go out, cry about it to some other company, they foot the bill. Right?”

“Kind of. It’s a little more complicated than that-”

“See, I told you they had a system,” Shiv said.

“Hey, I believed you, I just wanted to check.” Sylvia jutted her chin at the employee. “Sir, you might wanna step back quick. Sorry in advance.”

“Pardon? Sorry for-”

Sylvia released the tension she’d been holding, with no more physical exertion than an almost inaudible grunt. To say that the glass display case shattered would be an overstatement. There was no explosion, no flying fragments of debris, just a loud, crystalline ping. The case vibrated for a fraction of a second, then dissimulated, sighing gently apart and slumping to the ground, a glittering flow of millions of equally miniscule glass flakes.

Shiv was already pacing the line, yanking rings and necklaces from their displays and dropping them in her bag, by the time the employee had gathered his thoughts enough to make a noise.

“How did- Excuse me, you can’t-”

“It’d take too long to explain how, let’s just settle on ‘I’m a very special lady.’ And I definitely can, because watch:” Sylvia plucked a wedding ring from the counter and slid it onto her own finger. “Shiv, what do you think about this one on me?”

“Bleh. The rock’s too big. Tacky.” Shiv zipped her backpack shut, already mostly full, and swung it over her shoulder. “Come on, hustle. Two bagfuls, remember.”

“Right. Sorry, got caught up in the moment.” Sylvia started sidling down the line, scooping whatever she could grab into her pack.

“I- You- I’m going to… call the police?” stammered the employee. He reached for a wall-mounted landline, still too confused to be terrified.

“Is that a question?” Sylvia cocked her head. “I mean, you can, but what’re you gonna tell them? How do you explain this?”

The man looked down at the loose piles of glittering dust lining where the bulletproof glass display used to sit. “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure.”

“Feel free to file a report, but I’ve got a feeling the police here are about to be pretty swamped, the next few weeks. Might not get back to you for a while.” Sylvia zipped her pack and hurried over to the front door, where Shiv stood waiting. “Sorry about the mess. Quick tip: when you’re sweeping this stuff up, wear a mask or something, it’s really fine and you do not want silicosis, believe me.”

“Oh. Thank you.” The man nodded, blinking hard, as if he was trying to rouse himself out of a dream.

“Ok, come on. Banter limit exceeded.”

“Right.” Sylvia blew the employee a kiss, winked. “Sorry again!”

She hurried after Shiv, hopped into the Range Rover they’d requisitioned and left parked outside.

“Maybe don’t use my real name directly in front of the people we’re robbing next time,” Shiv said, hovering her palm over the car’s empty ignition. With a quick, sharp retort and a whiff of ozone the engine roared to life.

“Oh who cares, the cops aren’t gonna have the resources to sniff out random jewel thieves here, not now. With what Benny was saying, maybe never again.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Shiv, so unshakeable, so fluent at playing things cool, visibly tensed. “It’s not gonna be the Aurapocalypse. Ok? People are gonna convene, fight it out a bit, we’ll snap up some scraps, then a top dog’s gonna emerge and everyone else will scramble. Then things will go back to normal.”

“Well, mostly. There’ll be a new Demigod wandering around, probs.”

“Or, more likely, one of the ones we’ve already got just gets a little fatter.” Shiv took a deep breath, fingers drumming the wheel. “Please, for me, cool it on the ‘end of the world’ talk. Okay? It’s getting to me.”

Sylvia’s brow creased. She reached across the console, touched Shiv’s elbow. “Sorry, I didn’t mean- You’re not having a- Should we pull over?”

“Nah, no.” Shiv pounded her chest once, hard, cleared her throat. “No, not an episode, just kinda flagging a bit. I’ll be fine. Let’s focus, gimme directions, I don’t know where I’m supposed to turn off.”

Shiv punched the address they’d been given into her phone, a park just a few minutes away, nestled against one of the Cities’ million little lakes. She frowned, extended her hearing a bit, listened for Shiv’s heart.

Muffled, fast, but rhythmic. Not spasming.

Marco was already waiting for them by the time they arrived, sitting at the edge of a dock full of swan boats, legs in the water. He was in one of his suits, despite the heat, despite the locale, pants and shoes that probably cost a month of rent soaking in lake scum. He waved at them as they approached, without turning his head, his attention locked on the pair of ducks he was tossing kibble to.

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“They let you feed the ducks here,” he said as they approached, grinning. “25 cents for a cup of this, like, dog food. That’s nice. I can’t remember the last time I paid a quarter for something.”

Sylvia crouched to grab a handful of food from him when Shiv tensed, let out a harmless wave of force that rippled the water and sent the birds scrambling.

“No fair, I wanted a turn.” Sylvia faux-pouted and slung her backpack off, set it next to Marco. He hefted it, listened to the jewelry jingle inside, and whistled appreciatively.

“Let’s keep this brief.” Shiv crossed her arms, frowning down at the man. “You’ve got your loot. Now spill.”

Marco kicked lazily in the water. A minnow chased the tip of one of his loafers. “Always so quick to business. You’d think you Make-A-Wish types would learn to appreciate the moment a little more.”

“You don’t get to talk,” Sylvia teased. “Between the three of us, you were the one who was medically deadest.”

“Yeah, but I wrapped my Lincoln around a traffic light, that’s different, that’s troubled bad boy shit. I get extra points for being so centered.”

“I’ll have an easier time appreciating the moment once you tell me what the hell’s going on.” Shiv dangled her pack above him. “I’m happy to take my blood money and leave.”

“Oh come on, we both know you didn’t kill anyone for that.” Marco leaned back and took a deep breath, sighed appreciatively. “You feel it too, right? The buzz in the air. God, it’s nice.”

Sylvia nodded. It’d started as a vague, invigorating feeling, budding in her around the time they’d crossed state lines into Minnesota, and had only intensified as they’d approached the cities. Sitting, now, in the epicenter of it all, she thrummed with energy. Her Aura was stronger than it had ever been, more responsive, more powerful. She felt like she could throw a car, sprint a marathon. It was intoxicating, and more than a little worrying.

“What is it?” Shiv prodded.

“No idea.” Marco giggled and shielded his pack as Shiv snatched at it. “Hey, no backsies. Nobody knows what’s going on, not a single person in my network has any clue. The ‘why’ and ‘how’ of it all is a total black box. The only certainty is the ‘what:’ all of us are stronger, here, in this random mid-sized metropolitan area. Our senses are better, our Knacks more pronounced, we’re more efficient, have better output. Most importantly, that sense we all got, every one of us at the same time, a few days ago? That this was out there, just waiting, and all of us knowing exactly how to get here? It’s global. We’ve got Sensitives in China, Australia, Argentina flocking our way as we speak.”

“Okay, well, that leads me to one of my first questions,” Shiv said, tossing her pack over to Marco and lowering herself to join Sylvia on the dock. “How many Demis, do you think, are on their way over? And how long before they get here?”

“I mean, I can only tell so much, with those guys.”

“You’re supposed to be the one with all the answers.”

“I’m not omniscient, Shiv. I’m just well-connected. Half of the Demis are completely off the grid at all times. One of them lives at the bottom of the goddamn ocean, another’s been cooking herself in a nuclear reactor since the Cold War. Whatever the hell the thing is that dropped the rock on Singapore, if it even is a Demigod, I didn’t know it existed until everyone else found out the hard way last week. These aren’t people you can pop in and check up on.”

“Give us a ballpark then.” Sylvia snatched the cup of duck food from Marco as one of the birds came paddling back.

Marco tapped his chin, watching the duck. “One at minimum. Rai and her goons are already on their way. Once she starts culling, there’ll be blood in the water and others are going to follow. Could be up to six, worst case scenario. That’s just my gut, though.”

Shiv looked queasy. Sylvia checked in on her heart: quicker, but still regular. "Any chance we could just stick around for a few days, soak up whatever spooky energy is coming out of the cities, and bounce before the Demis start throwing buildings around?"

"It's a nice thought, Sylvia, but I doubt it. Whatever it is that's in the air here, it leaks out of my Aura just as fast as anything else does." Marco pulled his legs from the water and flicked his hand downward. A cloud of steam formed as the water burned off of his clothes, leaving him perfectly dry. "No, sorry, if you want to get strong enough to keep babygirl's ticker pumping long-term, you're gonna need to eat someone."

"Ew, don't call her 'babygirl,'" Sylvia said.

"And don't call it 'eating someone,' that makes it sound like I'm a cannibal."

"Fine, you'll need to dominate and absorb someone's dying essence. Word police."

Shiv sat for a moment, rubbed at her collar absently. "It needs to be me, right?"

"If you want to relieve your girlfriend of her human pacemaker duties, yes. Benny thinks the boost you'd get would be more than enough to give you the sensory chops to manipulate your own heart safely. Or, you know, as safe as DIY defibrillation gets."

"Hmm." Shiv frowned. "What're my options, here? For targets."

"Couple avenues you could take," Marco said. "Easiest one would be to jump a newbie. There's a fresh crop."

Sylvia made a little noise of surprise at that. "No! Here, now? What shit luck. How big's the group?"

"Not luck, at least I don't think so. Feels too perfect. My gut says whatever it is that happened to the city to supercharge things also shunted a few people awake, without, you know, killing them for a bit like usual." Marco scrolled through a file on his phone. "So far, I've felt buzzes from five. Had eyes on three. I could give you their names, addresses, but they're mostly regular people, so I doubt you'd feel okay with pouncing on them."

"No, you're right," Shiv said. "That doesn't feel fair."

"Plus, I have dibs on one already."

"What does that mean?" Sylvia asked.

"Oh, man, one of the crop, this kid, he's at a hospital right now. Threw a baseball threw his buddy." Marco grinned like a proud father. "Totally raw, seconds after awakening. Where he got the energy, I have absolutely no idea, because it's not like anybody explained how that works to him. Figure I'm gonna approach him, make him a deal, show him the ropes."

"You're extorting a kid?" Sylvia stuck her tongue out, unsettled.

"Not extorting! Investing. He's a natural, figure I should get in with him early, is all."

"You're buying a weapon. Fine, whatever." Sylvia said. "What about, you know, bad guys?"

"Bad guys?"

"Like, I don't know," Shiv reddened a shade. "Sensitives with nasty pasts. Someone I could feel ok about taking off the street, you know?"

Marco scratched his jaw, thinking. "Well, there'll be a good amount of M corp muscle, with Rai coming over. Plenty of those guys are psychos, though a lot of them are just run-of-the-mill human mercenaries, and you don't quite have the eye for talent I do. You might off someone and find out there's nothing there to eat. Or, sorry, absorb."

"What if you just keep an eye out for any shady types coming into the city?" Sylvia offered. "Give us a ring when someone nasty enough starts to draw some attention?"

"It'd cost you, but sure, I'd be fine with that." Marco fingered the strap of one of the backpacks. "I'd give you the usual friends-and-family discount."

"You're too kind," Shiv grumbled, hand still massaging her collar. "Okay. Keep us posted then. We'll scrounge something up for you once the whole thing's finished."

Shiv stood up to leave, hoisted Sylvia to her feet with her. Marco stood, too, a flash of doubt flitting across his usual grin. "Listen, before you go. I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you-"

Something about his tone set Sylvia's teeth on edge. Dread welled in her. "Hey, maybe don't-"

"No, this is important." Marco leveled his gaze right at Shiv, serious now. "Phoenix is coming. He's back aboveground and on the move, this way."

Sylvia groaned, reflexively honing in on the rapidly accelerating flutter of Shiv's heart.

"No shit," Shiv breathed, visibly paling. "I was hoping he'd-"

"Died? Me too," Marco barked a laugh. "He's strong, but with that psycho after him I'd thought, maybe, his shit would finally catch up to him. But no, he's been sighted, alive and kicking. And, listen, I know this is hard-"

"No, come on," Sylvia breathed. She readied a charge, felt it dance across her fingertips.

"Peter's with him."

Shiv nodded, breathed, rubbed her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, faltered, then fell to one knee with a grunt.

Sylvia was at her side in an instant, fingers steepled against Shiv's sternum, a practiced and precise gesture. She surrendered herself to her sense of touch, saw Shiv's body splayed out, layer upon layer of it, mazes of capillaries and churning hormones and surging ion channels. She zeroed in on her heart, now shaking wildly out of sync and rhythm, focused her mind on the phosphorescent ribbons of electrical charge fluctuating around it. She aligned herself with those charges, grabbed a hold of the energy like reins, and manhandled them back into a stable timing with a single, forceful zap.

"I've got you, you're good, baby, I've got you. Talk to me," Sylvia urged.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Shiv was panting.

Marco shuffled in place, uncomfortable. "Is she- Should I get someone?"

Shiv tried to respond, groaned, and clutched her chest again. Sylvia grabbed her shoulders, held her close. "You okay? Baby, talk to me, did it work?"

An agonizing pause. A dozen strangled heartbeats.

"I'm okay," Shiv breathed. "It worked. I'm good. Thank you."

Sylvia kissed her, allowed herself a relieved laugh. "The Vibrazone wins again."

"If one of these days I die and 'Vibrazone' is the last thing I hear you say, I'm haunting your ass." Shiv chuckled weakly, then darkened. "Marco, you're 100% sure Peter's with him?"

"I wouldn't have mentioned it if I wasn't."

"Do you think, if I fought him, I could kill Phoenix?"

"No shot," Marco said, instantly. "You're tough, Shiv, one of the toughest I've personally met. But all three of us together wouldn't have a chance. He's not a Demi but he's damn close."

"That's what I thought. Then," Shiv climbed to her feet, steadied herself. "If I… ''ate' Peter. His energy. Would it free him, you think?"

"It'd kill him."

More silence. Ducks quacking, people chatting, birds singing. The quaint soundtrack of a world blissfully unaware of what was coming. Shiv climbed to her feet, stared a hole through the ground as she considered her next words.

"Would you rather be dead, or stuck…" Shiv looked up at Marco, imploring. "Stuck the way he is now?"

Marco didn't need to give the question any thought. "Dead."

"Well, that’s that moral dilemma solved." Sylvia felt queasy again. "Shiv can just eat her brother."