“Never mind,” said Woole, “names are for survivors. If you can survive long enough, I’ll deign to hear your name.”

I nodded. It was all I could do.

“Shinna,” he said, “I expect a good reason why you’ve brought this little man to my throne room.”

“Indeed, your reverence,” said Shinna. He took the hat off his head. Holding it against his chest, he bowed stiffly. “He was the one who helped me complete the rift in reality between our worlds. Isn’t that right, little man?”

All the blood drained from my face. A heavy lump fell to the pit of my stomach.

“Helped…you?” I said.

“What did you think, you did it all by yourself?” said Shinna.

It was all just a terrible accident. Something wrong with the Trimpunctum. An error.

“My Lord Ram Gram Woole,” said Shinna, fitting the hat back on his head, “it is just as well you have not deigned to learn this little name.” He turned to face me. His face was creased and dark. It looked ancient. Damaged. Wiley. Demonic.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Because Godlet of Triangles isn’t really who you are. You know that, don’t you.” Shinna smiled. One gold tooth glimmered from the shaded gloom of his mouth.

“No,” I said, “or at least, that’s only part of it.” This was something I had always sort of known.

Shinna was stroking his chin and nodding. “Yes,” he said, “only part of it. That is a good way to put it. We are always every one of our names, at least in part.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“My lord Woole,” said Shinna, clicking his ankles together in attention, “with your permission, I will take this little man down to the catacombs, where he will be put to work with the rift team. Let’s see if he can make lightning strike twice.”

“Make it so,” said Ram Gram Woole. He pointed one finger at me. It was so big it looked like a sausage. “At this time, the host at the Table of Heaven have sealed nearly all of the rifts we created. They have routed our army, too, and our minions are on the run. But if you can make lightning strike twice, Godlet, there will be a seat for you at my table. Open the rifts for us–give us the doors to travel anywhere in existence–and your reward will be great.”

What had I gotten myself into? Again, I nodded, as it was all I could do.

With that, Shinna removed his hat and bowed briskly, clicked his heels together once again in salute, and ushered me back out of the throne room.

He placed his hand on my back, in the place between my shoulder blades, and started leading me back down the way we came.

“Where are we going?” I said.

“Weren’t you listening?” he said, “we’re going down to the catacombs. You’re going to meet the rest of the rift team.”