{Enki}

Sip.

At midnight, Tameka fluffed her jaw-length curls that foamed out from her face in a thick mass. “Space hair,” Pax called it. With a sigh, she applied eyeliner and mascara. Thanks to her nacre, her skin never required foundation. She could think of a few years in a highschool when she needed that. Despite her excitement of finally solving the Enki labyrinth—with Xelan’s help, no less—the mirror reflected sadness. This time of year hurt the most, and the misery weighed heavily on her—

“Mommy?”

For one moment, Tameka closed her eyes and soaked in all the love from that tiny voice at the door. He repaired her. That and—

Sip.

The lights dimmed. Oh, shit. Too much this time?

Caedes’ voice called through the door next, “Everything okay in there?”

She rushed to answer and as Pax latched onto her leg, she let all the terror show on her face. “Caedes, will they know?”

“It’s a good time to find out. Better now than while we’re running a secret mission. From hereon, try to dial it down. How’s it treating Pax?”

“Hee.”

Tameka beamed down at her precious son. His skin glowed, and his eyes sparkled. Like his mother. “Baby, how are you feeling?”

“I can fly. Watch!” He spread his arms out wide and zoomed around the room, making whooshing sounds.

She melted. As did Caedes beside her. Softly, she said, “I think it’s working.”

“Great. And no Tritan patrols at the door, yet, so maybe we’re all clear.”

“Hello! I’m in the living room.” Sagan’s voice rang through the open bungalow. “Totally nowhere I shouldn’t be without knocking.”

Caedes chuckled while Tameka rolled her eyes. “We’re up here.”

Pax darted into her closet so fast he almost left a waft of cartoon smoke.

The Seamswalker entered the hallway looking healthier than the last two visits. “Hey, where’s Jack and John?”

“They moved next door with Karter, Chris, and Para,” Tameka explained. “It’s temporary. Eventually, we hope to open the entire wing.”

“Cool.” To Caedes, Sagan asked, “How’s the drive coming along?”

The Icarus gestured for them to follow him to “the room.” “I’m trying it out tomorrow. Let’s hope it doesn’t melt the colony.”

With a deep breath, the Seamswalker looked over at Tameka. “Are you ready to do this?”

In light of her son’s cuteness, Tameka beamed. “Absolutely.”

Sip.

Caedes went over the plans for the Dyson’s Sphere’s map in “the room.” “And when I apply… uhm…”

“You can say it.” Still, Tameka braced herself. Sagan spared her a pitying look.

“Wingmaster’s schematics, we get this.” The lines that were on the paper layered over the conduits currently marked on the three-dimensional model. Perfectly. Until only a few undiscovered conduits remained between them and the Pantheon.

Sagan frowned and pointed at the display in the center of the desk. The girl’s axes shrank the tiny closet space. “Where do all these go?”

“Shrines, it seems,” Caedes offered. “Of course, we’ll review everything, but I think you should try to locate the Pantheon tonight. For confirmation, only.”

“Let’s do this.” Tameka was ready. Finally, they’ll discover whatever secret the Tritans hid there, so important they made Xelan a fugitive for it. Some part of Tameka wondered if she should tell Tumu. But given his history of ambiguous help, it seemed better to move forward without him. Besides, this was recon only for tonight.

“All right. Which landing is that?” Sagan asked about the nearest explored point to the Tritan temple.

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Caedes blew out the air in his cheeks. “If you find the right one, I’ll be impressed. Your ability is based on visuals, correct? Those landings are intentionally identical. That makes it different to pinpoint the exact location. Try… here instead. Have you ever been to John’s lecture hall?”

She nodded.

“Okay. Gear up and try for that. I’ll guide you from there.”

“Thanks,” Tameka offered him an appreciative smile.

He looked away with a curt nod.

Sip.

They Seamswalked into the amphitheater John used to educate the Tritans on human existence. Tameka asked, “Are we in the right one?”

Caedes assured, “Congrats, you made it. Luckily, there are fewer of them to pick from. Okay, take the second conduit on the right of the hall’s entrance.”

Tameka and Sagan went hand-in-hand. Even with the map, they explored for what felt like hours. Glass corridors. Ocean landings. Colonies of stone and glass. And ceilings too low for their supposed makers. The repetitive similarities of every space spiraled the labyrinth into dizzying madness. They distracted themselves with conversation.

“So there’s nothing wrong with the port, and if he can imitate the technology, it actually might improve memory bank exploration and upgrades?” Tameka tried to ignore the other part of this discussion where Sagan mentioned the pregnancy test. The thought of the Seamswalker bearing Korac’s children terrified Fury.

“Isn’t that wonderful news? Something good came out of this it.” The blond poked it.

And the redhead refused to shudder. But one thing struck her. “Where’s your chain?”

Sagan rolled her eyes. “I am aware that I left it with Matt. I plan to retrieve it tomorrow. I know I’m irresponsible and an asshole. Okay? I’m sorry.”

Tameka held up her hands to ward her off. “Whoa, sorry. I’m not trying to harp on you. I guess Pablo already gave you the talk.”

“And three banana bags.”

What the fuck were banana bags? Never mind. Not important. “Oh! Speaking of forgetting. I remembered. On my last solo walk, I found a weird room on the other side of a shrine. Black metal floors, walls, and ceiling. A bunk like the detainment pods in the Ionas. And a nacre resistant shield made up the opposite wall. Ring any bells?”

Tameka heard Sagan swallow from two feet away. When she answered, her voice wavered, “The room you described. It sounds like a cell on Gait.”

The redhead recoiled. “Fuck. Really?”

The blond girl frowned as she considered the implications. “Wow. I… I have to tell Korac or Pehton. Maybe Razor knows something—”

“Okay. Stop.” Tameka dropped her sister’s hand and faced her.

Sagan shrank back. “What?”

“Stop with the Razor ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ crap. He’s completely untrustworthy. And no offense, but the more you trust him, the more I’m convinced you shouldn’t.”

“Hey!” The Seamswalker folded her arms and went into defensive mode.

Fury tried to diffuse the bomb. “I trust your judgment, I do. But you and Rayne have this thing in common with bad boys and redemption arcs. Not everyone is worth saving—”

“Progeny.”

The girls straightened to attention before they remembered Caedes couldn’t see them. “Yes?”

Gently, he pressed, “You’re two conduits away.”

Upon his instruction, they stepped into the next conduit and entered a surprisingly familiar space. Of course, they instantly tried to retreat, but the conduit sealed behind them.

Sagan mouthed, “Shit.”

Yea, that about covered it.

The last time they came here was two years ago. Xelan wasn’t allowed to join them. He stayed back while the Progeny learned the history of Enki’s manipulation of Cinder and the Icari. Primary Rem’s sanctuary and its impressive waterfall of Cascading Light. All white stone composed the entire colonnade surrounded by the ocean at Enki’s northern-most point.

Looking up from here dizzied her, so Tameka kept eyes front. But Sagan’s eyes danced with it. The entire Dyson’s Sphere, upside-down. A beautiful wonder and one hell of a headache. It distracted them from the important question.

Tameka mouthed, “Where’s Rem?”

They cautiously stepped closer. It wasn’t likely they could miss a sixty-five foot blue alien in the center of the Greek-style columns. Boldly, they walked up the steps to the center. Absent.

Sip.

Caedes whispered over their earpieces, “Contact.”

Tameka and Sagan shared a look before Fury quietly answered, “Right, Caedes, we found Primary Rem’s sanctum.”

He sounded terrified. Quietly. “Well, Elden, get the hell out of there—”

Sagan shook her head and stood at the glass lift that raised for the Primary’s audience. “He’s not here. Although, it’s no surprise he’s the final boss before the Pantheon. It leaves me wondering how Xelan ever got by him. Naked…”

Tameka lamented, “We’ll never know.”

“Bet I can Seamswalk here now. That makes it easier to do multiple trips—”

Knocking sounded from Caedes’ end. The gruff Icarus made plenty of noise as he exited “the room” and headed for the front door to the bungalow. “Yes?” How did he increase the gravel in his voice for an extra grumpy effect?

“We discovered the source of a power delay.”

Oh, shit. Tameka recognized that voice as one of the so-called “maintenance” Tritans.

The inconveniently timed interruption continued speaking, “It came from this apartment. We need to diagnose the problem.”

Both Sagan and Tameka glanced at one another in perfect agreement. Within the same second, Fury was back in the master suite of her home. Softly, she warned, “We’re back, Caedes,” before he made excuses for her absence.

Sagan locked herself in “the room.” To which the door camouflaged into the wall. It was okay for Tumu to know she Seamswalked around Enki as she pleased, but not randoms.

As the snoops tore all over the apartment searching for the cause of the power surge, Caedes and Tameka discretely went into the kitchen with Pax. Quietly, she griped, “We were close.”

“Should we try again?” Sagan squeezed out.

Caedes pretended to rummage through the cabinets and used the sound to disguise, “When?”

The Seamswalker answered after a pensive pause, “Tomorrow night. I have a quick thing at the Emporium. Then I can join you, say nine-ish?”

Fury almost rolled her eyes. She loved her sister, but Elden dammit, she wanted to choke some sense into her. “Be careful. I’ll see you then.”

“Always.”

After Sagan left, Tameka grumbled, “Rayne wouldn’t let her get by with this shit.”