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Feeling silly, I nevertheless coize to Derek for this intrusion on his personal space

“I’d rather she did this,” Derek joked nervously, referring to Oriax

Oriax laughed It was not a joyful sound There was the sinister h “Do you?”

“Yeah, you’re like, so hot”

“Mmm You have no idea,” she said

“Now, speak these words,” Messenger told ranted to the Heptarchy By Isthil and the balance She e to your soul”

The incantation was at once ridiculous and o that sounded i Was I to believe there was such a thing as the Heptarchy? The word just , but seven of what? And as Isthil? He’d

mentioned that name before, I was sure, and when he spoke the name, it ith reverence But once more, curiosity would be my preferred vice, so I spoke the words

“By the Source By the rights granted to the Heptarchy By Isthil and the balance She e to your soul”

At first there was no change I was disappointed, thinking either that I had failed soless Derek’s heart beat beneath radually so that for several seconds I could not be sure it was real, my left hand felt an to feel rather the discrete muscular contractions within I could feel the co as others opened; e of blood squirting fros and brain

I swear I almost felt the slick wetness of his heart, the rubbery tension of stretched muscle, the warmth of the viscid liquid within

And at the saht hand see of hair, the thin layer of flesh, the hard bone, like wet stone

I tried to pull away, butlook to Messenger, but now the mist seemed to conceal all but the shadow of him Muffled voices of Oriax and Derek, neither co e nervousness

I felt , hands still locked on to Derek whilearound in a wide circle It wasn’t real, I was certain of that, or as certain as I could be of anything in this new, altered reality But I could not un-feel the sensation of spiraling, of whirlinglike Alice down the rabbit’s hole

BelowI fell or the darkness rose, I’htning stor but the texture of the darkness around me