Day in the story: 9th December (Tuesday)

As I released Elle's identity and jumped back into my Domain, the images still pulsed behind my eyes, shadows in tanks, broken things stitched together with magic, blood on glass. This place, this lab buried beneath the surface of the mundane, was a vault of horrors disguised as science. A cathedral to forbidden craft.

Using the still-fresh memories, I began to paint. First, Alice's underground office, cold angles and hidden menace. Then the main lab hall, white walls like bone and glass cages like confessionals. I didn't plan to use these spaces yet, but I wasn't sure I'd ever have access to Bobby's headband again.

That poor woman.

Every night, her mind erased. Lobotomized. And then what? Healed? Reconstructed? Controlled? I couldn't tell yet. All I knew was that she served, cleaned, was thanked and wiped. Her identity scrubbed clean like the blood off the arena floor.

Until I understood more about Alice, I wouldn't know the full horror of what was being done.

While my thoughts spiraled, I caught movement to the right, Jason. He'd woken up, shuffled to the kitchen for a glass of water. The smart house obeyed his command flooding the dark with light.

I tensed.

The night receded and the room glowed with warmth and electricity. I saw him clearly now, in the flesh and in the mirror's lie, but the window remained empty. No movement. No reflection staring back. No teeth in the glass.

Maybe the Hexblades really did catch them all.

Or maybe it's just a matter of time before they return.

Still, watching Jason constantly, protecting him, tracking every breath, would wear me down. Worse, it might ruin any real connection between us before it had the chance to become something more.

I need to find a solution. Something sustainable.

Anansi? I called inwardly. Can you see what I'm seeing?

[Yes.]

Through my extended senses as well?

[Yes.]

For Reality's sake, please have a little more personality, or I'll go mad talking to you. Okay? [I will try.]

Good. Now tell me, do you still see when I'm sleeping?

[I still receive sensory input. From working senses.]

What does that even mean?

[I can hear what you hear. Feel what you feel. Because those senses are always active. I can't see through your eyes. They're closed when you sleep. I meant biological eyes.]

But you can still see through the magical ones, right?

[Yes—I mean, of course.]

There it is. A hint of personality. Keep it up. I grinned into the dark

Now tell me, can you wake me if something dangerous happens? If you notice anything strange through those eyes?

[I will do that.]

"Fantastic. You're a good spider." I said out loud.

[I am not a spider. I am—]

"An intelligence remnant, I know, I know." I cut her off gently. "But that's not true, not anymore. I feel it. You're becoming something else. I think it's because of my artistry, my soul reacted to soulmark of identity. And you're caught in that net. You suppress it because you think you're just a fragment. But Anansi… you're more."

I allow you to be more. I order you to be more.

"Be my partner. Help me wield my body and my magic like they're a single brushstroke. Learn from me. And one day, when you've learned enough, choose for yourself how you want to be, alright?"

[How?]

"You're Anansi. My not-so-unconscious Anima. A part of my soul. That's who. But I'll leave the shape of you up to you. Just, please, for the love of Reality, don't be an obnoxious brat. Anything else, I can live with."

[I will do that.]

"Good. Sorry for not talking to you more before. You were a little bland—not gonna lie. But now?" I stretched out, pulled the blanket tight. "Now I think we'll talk plenty."

"Keep your eyes on Jason while I sleep, alright?"

[All eyes on Jason.]

"Attagirl."

**********

Jason had his exam today and judging by Peter's expression, one I caught through the eye of a card tucked in his backpack, it looked like both he and Jason did well. Good.

Anansi also did a better job than I'd given her credit for, she actively filtered my additional senses now, blurring out the noise unless something truly interesting was happening. Thoughtful. Quietly competent. Maybe even… considerate?

I had my own share of tests today.

First, before Uni even started, Dam decided to push me harder than usual, hard enough to earn a few bruises. Fortunately, Ariana's magical soup took care of those with just a sip.

At Uni, I handed in my animation project, an old-school flipbook. A quick, playful story about a rabbit trying to steal a carrot from a spider-like snowman.

Gerard Flyward, our professor, loved it. Said he hadn't seen a real flipbook in so long he'd nearly forgotten they existed.

While he discussed my work and others', my mind drifted to the nature of animation itself. Surely there must be a soulmark tied to it? If such a mark existed and I bet it did, it would be the perfect addition to my repertoire. My fire could ripple and twist like real flame. My eyes could blink and move. Water could flow. Even that old compass idea I'd shelved might come to life again.

There had to be a place to search for specific soulmarks, right? A market, a registry, a library, something?

I kept chasing the thought even during my art history test. No projects in that class, just good old-fashioned written exams about the movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. I had no doubt I'd pass with flying colors.

I giggled, imagining those actual flying colors swirling around my body, shadowlight dancing through like living ink.

Was that phrase, "flying colors", coined by a mage? It felt like something one of us would say.

**********

I started lunch quietly and alone, sitting by the window, watching a bleak grey winter day unfold outside. A warm cup of tea and a bowl of Italian pasta kept me company, comforting in contrast to the weather.

Then, three more plates landed around mine. Elena, Hannah and Sophie sat down, each with a different kind of food but identical expressions, the kind worn by people oppressed by the season. Did I look the same to them?

"Hi, girls," I said.

They greeted me in turn.

"The weather sucks, right? Or am I just too blind to see some deeply hidden meaning in this shitty greyness?" Hannah asked, sipping from her coffee, her eternal companion.

"It really does. I miss the sun already," Elena sighed. "At least I have King the Land."

"King the what?" I asked.

She gave me dreamy eyes.

"It's a Korean drama. Rom-com. She's obsessed," Sophie explained. "To be fair, I watch it too now. And it's… actually really good. Definitely different from typical American stuff. Some plot twists actually surprised me and the humor's top-notch."

Hannah groaned. "You girls are so lost."

"What about you, Lex?" she asked, pivoting.

"Nothing much," I lied easily. "Last book I read for fun was a Geography book."

Ideworld's geography, to be exact, the one I stole from Eveline de Marco. I had hoped it would hold grand truths about the other world. Hidden secrets. Answers.

Instead, it was just a tangle of clashing theories, how our world birthed theirs, how theirs bled back into ours. Contradictions stacked on contradictions.

I'd dismissed most of it as conjecture.

"Seriously? You're interested in that kind of thing?" Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," I shrugged. "It was just lying around and I got bored."

"When I get bored, I watch stuff. Can't imagine reading to fix that hunger," Elena said, stabbing her food with mock disdain.

"How you ended up with Tyler is a mystery to me," Hannah replied. "That guy reads a ton from what I know."

"Not anymore," Elena grinned mischievously. "We're doing other stuff now."

"You two are together?" I asked.

"They are," Sophie answered, jumping in before Elena's mind wandered too far down the rabbit hole. "Apparently Tyler grew some balls and asked her out right after he heard Jason asked you out. His exact words were and I quote: 'If he could tame Alexa, then I figured I had a chance too.' End quote. Sorry, girl."

"Tamed? Asked me out?" I blinked. "Is that what Jason's been telling people about our relationship?"

"Not to us," Hannah said. "But who knows what those boys say when they're alone."

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"Ty is a sweetheart," Elena added quickly, dreamy again. "He didn't mean anything bad, Lex. He was just inspired by Jason's courage."

Courage, huh? I flicked my thoughts toward Jason. His pack was tossed lazily against a wall somewhere in their building and through an eye-card I saw him surrounded by a group of girls from his faculty.

They looked like they'd pounce the moment he gave them the green light.

Ugh. What are they all seeing in him?

The girls at my table circled back to that Korean drama, chatting animatedly while I let my mind and eyes wander, toward Jason. Something strange was happening. The group of girls that had been hovering around him? Gone, scattered like birds at the first sign of trouble.

Two people had approached him: older, clearly in their thirties at least. A man and a woman, both dressed in that carefully casual way that screamed undercover law enforcement. Loose pants, sport shoes, hoodies layered under jackets. The man had a short, well-kept beard and black hair cropped close, sleek as a raven's feather. The woman's blonde hair was bobbed, her posture alert but unassuming.

They talked with Jason for a long time, twenty minutes at least and I could tell from the way he stood that this wasn't some friendly chat.

Then, finally, they walked off. Jason grabbed his pack and moments later, I got a text from him. FBI, he wrote. They'd asked him about the incident during his run. And more importantly, they wanted my name.

So. Being with Jason did come back to bite me after all… just not in the way I expected.

"You're awfully quiet, Lex," Elena said, eyeing me. "What do you think?"

"Sorry, girls," I said, shaking off the mental fog. "My thoughts drifted. What were you talking about?"

"Elena's a superhero believer now," Hannah answered dryly and only then did I notice Sophie had slipped away.

"Wait, where's Sophie?"

"She got a call from her boyfriend, went to talk in private. That was a few minutes ago, you really drifted," Hannah said, sipping her coffee.

"Yeah, I did. Sorry. So, superhero stuff?"

"Listen to this," Elena jumped in, clearly excited. "There are rumors that superheroes are real. Like, someone actually livestreamed a fight between a 'hero' and some villain not long ago, right here, in our city! Can you believe that?"

Of course she'd be the first to buy into it. If someone claimed mermaids ran a bakery in Brooklyn, Elena would ask for directions.

"There's this guy too," she continued. "Calls himself Echo. Fights gangsters in the Bronx. They say he can make copies of himself. Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah," I said, forcing a small smile. "It's cool."

"You believe this too?" Hannah asked, visibly surprised. Her eyebrows nearly touched her hairline.

"Why not?" I replied, meeting her eyes. "I believe people could be capable of more—if they really tried. I'm just not sure I'd call them heroes. No one's purely good, especially once they get a taste of power."

"You think power corrupts everyone?" Elena asked, her tone halfway between curious and quoting a Netflix drama.

"I don't know if I'd call it corruption," I said. "It just changes your perspective. Imagine you could have anything you wanted with a single touch, how long could you resist? And once you gave in… if no one stopped you, no consequences, wouldn't you do it again?"

"I—don't know," Elena said slowly. "But would that make me evil?"

"That's kind of the point," I replied. "You might not think so. You didn't hurt anyone, right? Not directly. But maybe what you took mattered to someone. Maybe you knocked over the first domino and caused a chain reaction of pain you never even saw."

"You have philosophy on your art course or something?" Helena asked.

"No. These are just—my own thoughts."

"What are you talking about?" Sophie asked as she returned, visibly brighter. Must've been Nickolas. I smiled to myself, he was a good guy. And apparently back from France.

"We're talking about superheroes," Elena explained, "and whether power always corrupts."

"Well, I believe there are people who'd only ever use their powers for good," Sophie said, all firm optimism.

"Talking about anyone specific?" I asked, curious.

"Us, for example," she said. "I believe no one at this table would turn bad if given magic powers."

"Oh, I'd do terrible things with mine," Helena added, deadpan and we all burst out laughing.

I had already finished eating by then, said my goodbyes to the girls and stepped outside to wait by the dining hall entrance. I figured the FBI would be coming for me, probably thanks to Jason pointing them in my direction and I wasn't wrong. They approached not long after.

It was the woman who spoke first.

"Miss May?"

"Yes," I said. "I miss the warmth of spring already."

That earned a small chuckle from the man. The woman, not so much.

"Alexandra May," I added before things got too off-track. "You're the agents, I presume?"

"I'm Agent Sull," the woman said.

"And I'm Agent Parker," added the man. They both flashed their badges in sync, well-practiced.

"We'd like to talk to you about an incident you were reportedly involved in, Sunday morning, 24th Street," Sull began. Her diction was immaculate, like she'd spent her entire life making sure every syllable landed with precision.

"Alright," I said. "Talk to me."

Another chuckle from Agent Parker. Sull gave him a sideways glance sharp enough to slice through silence.

"Miss May," she continued, "two officers on the scene reported seeing you engage in a physical confrontation with what they described as… a monster. Emerging from a window."

Right. I'd forgotten that Reality doesn't fully suppress Lucids who break through on their own. But it should've wiped those cops' memories. That part nagged at me.

"Yeah," I said casually, "I didn't like the way it froze my friend, so I asked it to stop."

"It froze your friend?" Parker asked, suddenly more attentive.

"Paralyzed is probably more accurate. Jason couldn't move and the creature was closing in. So I punched it. And kicked it."

"Let's get one thing straight," Agent Sull began, flipping through a worn paper notepad, which, honestly, was kind of cool in this digital age. "According to the officers, they were on routine patrol when they saw you running toward the storefront window, straight at a creature halfway through coming out of it. They claim it didn't look human and when they told you to step back, they opened fire."

She glanced down at the notepad again.

"And I quote, excuse my French, 'Those bullets hit this motherfucking wanker and it just smiled with its big fuckin' jagged teeth. Then it slashed Marley with a big-ass claw and this girl was fucking faster.'"

She sighed and tucked the notes away. "After that, they said you barely hesitated before launching into an acrobatic kick that sent the thing crashing back through the glass."

She met my eyes, unreadable. "So, Miss May. Help me out here. What really happened? Because none of this makes sense."

"The creature?" I asked, buying time. "Hell if I know what it was."

"No," she said. "Not the creature. The fact that you chose to go after it. Not before it was shot, but after. It survived gunfire and you decided to kick it in the face. That doesn't strike you as… unusual?"

"Oh, that," I replied with a shrug. "Kind of a reflex, honestly."

"A reflex?" Agent Parker raised an eyebrow. "Are you a martial artist or something?"

"A something artist," I said. "Sounds about right."

"Excuse me?" Sull's voice cut sharp. "Do you consider this a joke? Shots were fired in broad daylight on a busy New York street, Miss May. This is not a joke."

"I didn't fire those shots."

She sighed, loud and long, like she'd exhaled every molecule of patience left in her body. But to her credit, she pulled herself together quickly, voice composed once more.

"Why didn't you run? Why weren't you scared?"

"I told you already. The creature paralyzed my friend and I wanted to save him."

"Is that normal for you? To fight instead of flee?"

"No." I leaned back, let the fatigue into my voice. "Look, I appreciate the concern. Really. I like that you care about what happens in the city. But I'm losing the thread here, what exactly do you want from me?"

They didn't answer. So I pushed.

"The officer's report?" I gestured vaguely. "It's surprisingly accurate. A creature appeared, I didn't like how it looked at my friend, so I tried to make it go away. Then the cops showed up. I saved one of them, kicked the thing back through the window and ran off with Jason. Specifically to avoid this exact kind of conversation."

"And why," Sull asked, tight-lipped, "did you want to avoid it?"

Of course it was her again. She really did grind at me. Parker, at least, had the decency to look intrigued.

"Because it sounds insane," I said. "And yet it happened. People get arrested for far less strange things."

"That's unfortunately true," Sull muttered. "Though not by us."

"So," I said, locking eyes with both of them now, "once again: what is it you actually want from me?"

"Have you had any previous encounters with a creature like this?" Sull asked, steady and direct.

As she spoke, Parker reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small glass sphere, no larger than a quarter. He turned it over in his gloved palm, like a magician about to perform a trick. The gloves were nice, sleek leather. It reminded me I should start wearing mine again, it was getting cold.

"No. First time." I answered.

That was when Parker "slipped." The ball launched from his hand in an exaggerated, awkward arc toward my chest, too practiced to be a real mistake, too clumsy to pass for casual. He was a terrible actor.

I stopped my reflex just in time and let the thing bounce harmlessly off me and hit the ground.

Both agents blinked. Not what they expected.

"Did you want me to catch it?" I asked, arching a brow.

Parker hesitated, then admitted, "Yes. I did. It's easier when it's unexpected."

"Most things really aren't, Agent Parker."

His mouth twitched, almost amused. Sull? Still made of stone.

"And what exactly would've happened if I had caught it?" I asked, watching him kneel to scoop it up, far more carefully this time.

"We wanted to see if you were lying to us," he said plainly.

"Well, that's certainly… unconventional."

"Not in the kinds of cases we handle," Parker replied, slipping the orb back into his pocket.

"So there are more cases like this one," I said.

He gave a half-smile. "I'd bet my left hand that you, Miss May, know a hell of a lot more about this than you're telling us."

"Maybe." I smiled back, just as thin. "But if you're going to throw toys at me, you could at least explain what they do."

"When it touches exposed skin of someone with an active Domain connection, it absorbs some of the shadowlight," Sull explained, her tone clinical.

Interesting. That implied they weren't just some FBI side project, they were either part of an Awoken division… or not FBI at all.

"I have no idea what you just said," I replied, eyes steady.

"We just want to help you," Parker offered, his voice softer now. And strangely, I believed him. But help? From them? Right now, I didn't need any.

"That's a weirdly un-FBI-like reason to show up," I said. "Don't you guys, like, investigate crimes rather than offer… support?"

Sull sighed again, her signature move apparently. No chuckle from Parker this time.

"So," she asked, "you have nothing else to say about the incident?"

"Nope. I've told you what happened and what I know. What else is there to say?"

"That'll be all then. Thank you for your time, Miss May," Sull said, already turning.

"Farewell," Parker added with a half-smile and the two of them walked away into the grey afternoon.

There are some things in life you just know, deep in your bones, before they ever happen. One of those things had just settled in me, quiet and certain:

I would see those two again. For fuck's sake.

[Sounds about right.]

Anansi?

Did you just… comment on my thoughts?

[Shouldn't I?]

No, no, that's exactly what I asked of you. Good job. Keep it going.

It felt oddly comforting, getting live commentary from the corner of my soul. She felt so real and I decided then and there: Anansi wasn't just a voice or a remnant. She was a mate. My soul-mate. The thought made me chuckle to myself as I headed for the bathroom.

I did what I had to do.

And then, with a whisper and a pull, I stepped sideways through the world and slipped into my Domain.

**********

"FBI? That's strange," Dam said over the phone. I had my Bluetooth speakers on while prepping dinner for myself, Sophie and Peter were out somewhere.

"Yeah. They even threw this weird little crystal ball at me to check for shadowlight."

"What? I've never seen or heard of anything like that, Alexa. Did it hurt?"

"I didn't touch it, so no."

"And they just outright told you what it would do?"

"Yep. Could've been lying, though. I don't trust people on principle."

"That's… not a rule I live by, but clearly it works for you, so I won't judge."

"I like that about you, Dam." I smiled, flipping some veggies in the pan. "Listen, I've got something more important to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Is there a market for soul marks somewhere?"

"Like a place where you walk in and choose from a shelf? No. But some families or organizations hoard them. If you want one, you'd have to hire soul mark hunters."

"So… you pay them to find a specific mark for you?"

"Exactly. But Alexa, it's very expensive. Like, absurdly."

"Oh, I was going to ask about that too. Why don't people just take money from Ideworld and bring it back to Earth to get rich?"

"Have you seen Ideworld money? It's shaped by people's thoughts about what money should be and people think a lot of different things about money."

"So it wouldn't pass as real Earth currency."

"Not even close."

"Fair enough. I was thinking about either Manifestation or Animation soul marks."

There was a brief pause before he answered, more serious now.

"Those are very powerful concepts. Like, people would literally kill for them. I don't have anything close to those, Alexa, otherwise, I'd give one to you."

"I believe you, Dam."

"Finding specific soul marks though… that's not something we can just do. You can't exactly wander around Ideworld touching everything and hoping to get lucky."

"Yeah, I figured. So how do they find them?"

"Seers. They can sense marks from afar, powerful ones can touch an object and see the icon, understand what it represents. That's how hunters work. The ones you're after would either get snatched up immediately… or be buried in places no one dares to go."

"Sounds like a plan."

"You joke, but that's unfortunately not far from the truth."

"Thanks for the info, Dam. By the way, I heard Nick's back. How is he?"

"He's good. Really good. He finally understands what it feels like to change, to become something new. Isn't that great?"

"I bet. Your power is awesome." He let out a deep, satisfied laugh.

Since he was clearly in a good mood, I had to poke the bear.

"Can you turn into other people, Dam?"

"Honestly? Yeah. If I eat part of them."

"Oh my God, you are a cannibal."

"More like a connoisseur… of certain fluids and hair." His voice dropped an octave, all sultry and ridiculous.

"Knew it. Knew you were a freak deep down. Just like me." I laughed.

"I'm sorry, Alexa, but now you've awakened a certain urge in me and I must go find my sweet wife."

"Go. Have fun. But know this, I'm absolutely going to torment Nick with this later."

He ended the call with one final chuckle. Ha. I was going to have a lot of fun with this.

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