“I’m making the incision now,” Dr. Tenneson said. “Keep still.”

Dr. Horosha nodded. “I know quite well how to keep still.”

I wove the practice sheet over my arm, and—

—A roar split the air.

I froze.

I’d been so focused on my psychokinesis, I’d stopped paying attention to the ghosts.

The demon that had once been Kreston clawed through the veil that trapped him beyond the visible. The veil had weakened. It was flickering unsteadily.

Blazing blue flames singed the edges of the air-tear as a monstrous arm pried through.

And then someone shrieked: “Demon!”

I looked straight ahead. There: past Ani and Heggy and Jonan, through the crook of Dr. Tenneson’s arm as he drew the scalpel across Suisei’s arm: a rabid nun, emerging through the wall.

Ileene.

Her eyes were red flames. Once more, four bat-wings unfurled from her back. Two above, two below. They phased through the surrounding machinery, cutting into the air like scimitars. Her feet were drake claws, piercing the floor beneath her dove robe’s hem.

The voices on the horizon chanted and warbled. Panic rushed down my tail.

I closed my eyes and abandoned my magic. I let dissonance tear through my thoughts. Brand’s work-music blasted in my ears, blazing like gunfire. I opened my eyes to see my psychokinetic sheet crumbled to nothing.

I glared at the monsters in my midst. My eyes gaped.

Away! Away!

Invisible erasers swept across the room, trapping the two demons beneath quivering swaths of space. The air twitched. I could almost hear them, gnashing and shrieking.

Power twitched in my chest. My fingers buzzed.

Apparently, when it came to my powers, I couldn’t multitask—at least not yet. I could either use my powers for psychokinesis, or I could use them to keep ghosts/demons/the gates of Hell at bay with my hyperphantasia—but not both!

Fudge fudge fudge!

“There, done. Red resin for you, too,” Dr. Tenneson said.

He set the resin gun back in its holster and turned to Ani and I.

“So, who’ll it be?”

Yet again, Dr. Lokanok impressed me.

“I’m sorry, but… I’m going to have to refuse,” she said.

Heggy gawked the most; Jonan, the least.

Ani shook her head. “I’m not okay with this.” She made the Bondsign. “I’m not going to participate in medical malpractice—‘cause that’s what this is going to become. I might not like having to keep information from patients, but that’s something I think I can live with. Lying to them, however? Outright lies? That’s a line I’m not going to cross.” She cut her arm through the air. “Lies darken the soul. I can’t begin to count the number of times lies have hurt me. Hell, lies have torn this whole country apart. So… sorry-not-sorry.” She crossed her arms. “I’m putting my foot down.”

“Politics is for cable news and dinners with the family, sweetheart,” Heggy said. “It’s got no place in the workplace, ‘specially durin’ a pandemic.”

I shied away from the argument. I wanted to back Ani up here, and not just because I agreed with her, but, I didn’t have the time. I was dead meat unless I could hold that plexus over my arm for two minutes straight. But, if I did that, the demons would break free, and then they’d hijack my powers to—

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

—Nope, I didn’t even want to picture it.

The point was…

But then I froze.

Oh God.

I was being clever again.

If the task was too much for one Genneth, why not make two?

I thought back to this morning, when I’d unwittingly fractured my own consciousness. Back then, it freaked me out. But now?

It was my only way out.

C’mon… C’mon…!!

I needed to recapture exactly what I’d felt earlier this morning.

Lightheadedness!

I needed to feel—I needed to feel—

—Lightheadedness!

—Lightheadedness!

Flibbertigibbet!

It worked!

I’ll hold off the demons. You do the rest!

I was one self in two minds in one body, and yet I felt better than ever. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Yes, and onto mine! Now get to work, we don’t know how long we’ve got until something else goes wrong!

I didn’t need to remind myself again.

I got to work, starting up the music in my mind.

Hammer rhythm hammer rhythm hammer rhythm hammer rhythm.

Second, I willed it out of me.

The luminous plexus threads spiraled out of my fingertips, unfurling in gossamer sheets that quivered in the air.

Wait a minute! The plexus threads! They aren’t as bright as they were before!

It’s too late for doubts! We have to try!

The voices returned—louder this time.

Phantom puddles spread across the floor. Translucent silhouettes churned, shapes like tendrils and limbs.

Help please?

I’m on it!

The dark forms flickered. An invisible veil hid them from the world.

Third—

“—Hey! Doc!”

A hand touched my back. I yelped.

—Aaah!

—Aaah!

I turned.

Beneath his blond bangs, Jonan stared at me with a look one-third concern and two-thirds bemusement.

“You seem… pretty stressed out right now.”

I’m sorry, you’ll have to talk to him.

Is something wrong?

Just, please… hurry!

Fudge.

“Doc?” Jonan asked.

“Is…" My voice cracked. I looked him in the eye. "Is it something on my face?”

“Nah,” Jonan said, “it’s all the fidgeting.”

So you noticed!

Please smack him.

“Why don’t you go next?” Jonan said. “It’ll get some weight off your shoulders.”

My every muscle tensed.

I couldn’t say no.

It didn’t take a neuropsychiatric degree to see that I was hurtling toward a complete mental breakdown.

“So… are you like Ani?” Jonan said. “Do you have something to hide?”

At this point, I had no idea if Dr. Derric was onto me.

Double fudge!

I panicked.

“N-No.”

Triple Fudge!

“Alright,” Doc said, gesturing to the table-turned-chair. “Your turn, Dr. Howle.”

My stress caused the Juggler Dance to start playing on its own accord as I walked up to the seat.

I’m sorry!

What?

I don’t think I can hold them… much… longer…

The air twitched behind the luminous plexus my other self was conjuring.

The edges of the diagnostic station undulated in a slow roil.

The distant specters were upon us.

They shoved and clawed at the unseen barrier, distorting the space before my eyes.

Voices coalesced all around me as I took my seat.

Snap—the Stinger struck. I barely felt it.

Hurry!

I unfurled the fingertip-sheet. My nerves raced. I tossed the thing over my arm with a careless thought, covering up the spot starting from where Dr. Tenneson held me with his left hand.

“Hold still…”

The demons battered and raged. The floor trembled.

Something moved out of the corner of my eye; I looked down.

I can’t hold it!

Arms.

A sea of human arms inundated the floor. Ulcerated limbs flailed. Rotting hands reached. Crumbling fingers clasped. Skin, muscle, sinew, and bone thronged as a chasm split the floor open beneath me. The abyss’ roar was endless winter; winter, and the screams of the damned.

Something slender pressed down on my forearm.

I—

—Lightheadedness swept through me. I snapped back into one point of view.

And then everything went to Hell.

The barriers collapsed. Demons poured in from every square inch. A succubus leapt out the tide. A rotting succubus—alive and dead—a putrid corpse in monastic robes with four bat wings and drake claws and a tail dipped in sublimating ice, her guts slit open as they had been on the autopsy table.

Ileene.

Black foulness spilled over me as she and the other demons descended in a fury, clawing and howled, alight with rage—broken by the darkness.

I lost all control. I screamed. I flailed. The invisible swath of ever-falling claws and sweeping limbs wrapped around my arm, sparking and flexing as they dug in deep, tearing long across my flesh, spilling blood.