The next morning, Eliesa came down the stairs of the brownstone home, pausing to yawn on the last step. She was already dressed and ready to go as she rounded the corner, spotting Winnie in the kitchen almost immediately.

  “Good morning.” She said with the most pleasant voice she could muster as she walked in. She really didn’t know where they stood in terms of friendliness.

  “Good morning. I made you a hot coffee,” Winnie motioned her head to the machine. She was dressed in jeans and a loose tank top. Nothing too flashy, she didn’t want any attention drawn to herself in Zease. Except, her shoes had a pretty price tag. She couldn’t help it, shoes were one thing in her wardrobe that she would always make sure were the highest quality.

  Eliesa noted that she looked nervous, but she didn’t say anything about it as her eyes followed to the espresso machine. There sat her cup, waiting for her with a trickle of steam still coming off of it. It was as if Winnie heard her awaken upstairs and started the cup. She was ripped from her thoughts then as she felt something nip at her ankle, her face scrunching up before she looked down to find the small Pomeranian.

  “Good morning to you too.” Eliesa hummed to the dog before walking to grab the mug. She turned, leaning against the counter and hugged the warm mug to her chest. She had spent the night freezing in the house, Winnie keeping the AC on blast.

  “Are you ready for today?” Eliesa spoke to her half sister before taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Of course I am.” Winnie answered as she mushed up her premade acai bowl. She put her feet up on the chair across from her. Eliesa almost felt like she was trying to seem unbothered. “What makes you think I wouldn’t be?”

  “Have you ever done anything like this?” Eliesa questioned, her voice low.

  “Are you trying to get me to not go? Because I am perfectly capable of handling myself out there,” Winnie started to get almost immediately defensive.

  “No,” Eliesa shook her head. “I just wanted to cover any questions you could have before we go.”

  Winnie blinked at her words, her shoulders dropping from their tension. She was so used to Brenner and Charlie’s constant worry for her, she didn’t factor that Eliesa could just be doing a check-in.

  “Oh,” she said after some time. “No, no questions.”

  Eliesa bounced her lower back slightly off the counter to stand up straight then. She placed her mug down and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

  “Perfect, then I’ll get the skin.”

  Winnie watched as the other woman walked over to her backpack that she had put in the living room. She grabbed it and returned to the table as she rummaged through it.

  It took a moment, but Eliesa carefully removed a plastic sheet from the bag. It was around three inches by one inch, and almost looked like a temporary tattoo at children’s parties, only it was missing the tattoo part.

  Eliesa held it up to the light, Winnie catching a glimpse in her eye then, one she didn’t quite like. She could see that the same love she had for Fisher was placed in her sister, only it was for her mother’s kingdom. There was a feeling deep down in her chest like she was making a mistake, that she should’ve called Brenner last night. She assumed, though, that there was a low chance that he would’ve even listened to her. She still very much believed Charlie was her only hope. If she found her brother, if she rescued her brother, he could do something. Eliesa was her only chance.

  “Your arm.” Eliesa reached her hand out to Winnie as she spoke.

  Winnie put her arm out and Eliesa slowly peeled off the backing on the sheet. Carefully, she placed it down onto Winnie’s forearm and lifted the other sheet of plastic off of her. It was simple, the woman standing up straighter before her once she was finished.

  Winnie looked down at her arm, turning it forwards and backwards and side to side. She saw nothing to even hint that it was there; It blended perfectly to her.

  “That’s it?” She asked.

  “That’s it.” Eliesa confirmed.

  “Whoa,” she breathed out and ran her fingers over it. Even she could hold some admiration for the device, despite where it came from. “This is incredible.”

  “There’s a lot of dead inventors that walk around bored in the underworld. This way, making stuff for her, they’re a bit more fulfilled.” Eliesa gave some backstory.

  “Well, they did a fine job,” Winnie praised. “What are my details? Or do you not know?”

  Eliesa picked up the sheet that was once attached to the fake skin graph and read aloud. “Debora Mercential, from Llevies.”

  “I’ve only been to Llevies once.” Winnie said as her face dropped.

  “Good thing security doesn’t ask you to take the citizenship test just to use a transfer pad.” Eliesa reminded her, raising a brow to her. She didn’t want her nerves to get them caught.

  Winnie didn’t respond, she only nodded and turned to Pip at her toes. The dog stared up at her with big brown eyes. She always likened them to Rodgers’ eyes, both had a set that She bent forwards to give his head a pat. “Don’t you worry. The nice lady next door is going to take great care of you and lavender until I get back. She’ll swing by to pick you up later today.”

  “You already walked him?” Eliesa looked confused, it was still early in the morning.

  “We went for our bike ride already, been up for hours.” It was half nerves and half Winnie’s usual routine that got her up without an alarm. “I usually bike along while Charlie runs. Pip likes the wind in his face.”

  Eliesa thought that she had done well getting herself out of bed so early in the morning. Turns out, her sister was more of a morning person than she was, which wasn’t one at all. She’d sleep till noon and beyond if no alarm was set. Helps when there’s no sun in hell.

  “You ready then?” Eliesa looked her over.

  Winnie nodded once and tugged a baseball cap onto her head. It wasn’t much, but it could hide her face in a pinch. The last thing she wanted to do was get spotted for who she actually was and not whoever she was supposed to be.

  “Let’s go.” She took in a breath, nodding her head.

  As Eliesa swung her bag around her shoulders, Winnie picked up her backpack she had spent the morning packing. She hadn’t really known what to pack. She gave herself an extra pair of clothes, a flashlight, and a couple of granola bars. She would’ve asked for help in packing had she been able to contact her brother. Though, if that was possible, she wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.

  After getting their shoes on at the door, they exited the brownstone and Winnie locked her door behind her. She didn’t know when she would see her home again, she didn’t know if she ever would. There was real danger behind what she was doing. It was different from a simple ride on a motorcycle at the speed limit. She silently said goodbye to her home in her head before turning and following Eliesa down the street.

  The transfer station wasn’t far from Central Park, so they decided to walk. It was mostly a silent walk with some exchanges here and there, they really didn’t have all that much to say to each other with the nerves. It was the calm before the storm or, at least, that's how Winnie felt.

  The real excitement began in Winnie’s chest when they entered the station. Even though it was early, the station was still packed. People came and went right past them, not paying them any mind.

  “Are you sure you want this?” Eliesa looked down at her sister, watching her face for any doubt.

  “I don’t have a choice,” Winnie didn’t believe she could stop a war like this one on her own. “I just hope this skin works.”

  “It will,” Eliesa promised as she went through the station. Winnie gave the fake skin a rub as they entered the line, still unable to tell that it was even there.

  Eliesa went first, hoping to give Winnie some support from the other side if things went wrong. She held out her arm for the scanner and Winnie watched as her face popped up on the screen along with her name. Although backwards from her point of view, Winnie noticed that her birth place was listed as mainland. She belonged to no kingdom in the system.

  Once Eliesa was through, she placed her bag on the conveyor belt. She tried not to nervously look back at Winnie who was stepping up to be checked.

  The princess held out her forearm and held her breath as it scanned. She had put so much faith into this random woman, it had all led up to now. It felt like it took forever for the information to pull up but, finally, it loaded. While her face was there on the screen, her name and birthplace were exactly as Eliesa had told her it would be.

  She was Debora Mercantile of Llevies to the security agent.

  Winnie was cleared and she stepped forward in a hurry to place her bag down. Her heart was pounding, her ears hot with adrenaline. She had never done anything like this before, she never had the reason to.

  The two got through just fine after that, putting back on their bags before getting in the shortest transfer pad line.

  This was where it moved the fastest, everyone was usually gone within seconds of stepping on the pad. So, it didn’t take long to get to the front.

  “I’ll go,” Eliesa said while looking back at Winnie. She noticed she looked paler than usual.

  “See you on the other side,” Winnie mumbled, trying so hard to not look like she was doing something bad. She had to remind herself to just play it cool.

  She watched her half sister go first before she stepped on up to the little circular pad. It was a squishy platform to step on, like you were stepping onto a bean bag chair, and looked like it was made out of grey goo.

  There was a flash on the transfer pad and she was in Zease before she knew it. To anyone that didn’t do this frequently, it could have the effect of making them sick to their stomachs. Winnie, however, visited Fisher enough times that the pad had no effect on her anymore. She didn’t need to take anything to settle her stomach and, as she looked around to spot her sister, it seemed Eliesa was the same.

  Now on the other side, the two only had to scan one more time. They didn’t speak as they walked through their line, Winnie’s nerves taking over her thoughts once again. She had to keep reminding herself that this ruse was almost over, it was this last step before she could focus on finding her brother.

  They exited the secure zone and both breathed a sigh of relief in unison. For a moment, they glanced at each other, sharing what Winnie was sure was the same thought. They had made it, they had successfully broken into Zease.

  In a turn of events, Winnie began to laugh. She didn’t know exactly why, maybe it was disbelief over what she had just done, but she couldn’t help it.

  Eliesa, looking over the short girl, let a smile spread on her face as she looked her over. She let out her own soft laugh before she turned and flipped her bag to the front.

  “Here,” She rummaged for a while before pulling out two pieces of round scrap metal and handing one out to Winnie. “Put this on.”

  Winnie took it and smoothed it over in her hands, her small amount of laughter subsiding. It looked like it was cut out from an empty food can. She almost swore it was still dirty. She flipped it to see the inside, which was lined with exposed wires.

  “What is it?” She asked, not wanting to place the exposed wires on her wrist.

  “A form of status in the inner ring of Zease.” Eliesa explained. “Means you’re able to bet at higher price points.”

  “Bet?” Winnie questioned as she finally slid it on. She jingled it once on her before Eliesa tapped the band and it fitted itself to the princess’ wrist. She did the same on her own.

  “Eliesa.” Winnie repeated herself. She did not like that she hadn’t answered her. From what she gathered so far, the woman didn’t mind telling her much.

  “What do you mean by bet?” Winnie asked again.

  “I’ll tell you once we get outside.” Eliesa answered, looking grim.

  Winnie didn’t like that, either. She almost preferred no answer to whatever could be coming next. The two women shared an exchange before Eliesa spoke again.

  “Stay close to me. We’ll make our way to the hotel in the inner ring and put our stuff away,” SHe shared their plan, “Then we can come back out and ask around for Charlie.”

  Winnie nodded and moved to let Eliesa lead. It’s not like she could’ve if she wanted to, anyway. They exited the transfer station together and Winnie set foot in Zease for the first time.

  The smell of burnt oil and trash is what hit the princess first, causing her face to scrunch up. It was like a dump that had been cooking in one hundred degree heat for ten years.

  “Oh, what is that?” She couldn’t help but whisper to herself.

  “Welcome to Zease,” Eliesa, who tried not to breathe so deeply, answered her. “That, Winnie, is the smell of engineering at work.”

  “Engineering sure does smell like garbage.” Winnie pinched her nose slightly, trying to block the smell even if it made her voice strange. They had exited into a narrow street filled with people, all rushing around in some capacity. Wires and television monitors were everywhere. Some wires even ran right across the floor, which Winnie only took notice of after she had tripped on one.

  “Look around.” Eliesa instructed and Winnie’s eyes followed along the street.

  “I am,” she exclaimed.

  “Closer,” Eliesa pressed. “Really look.”

  It was then that she started to notice that everything, no matter how small, was repurposed from something else. The bartops of the vendor stalls were cobbled together from cut wood and scrap metal, mostly nailed into place. What wasn’t nailed down was glued down, poorly. Some of the stalls, themselves, were old shipping containers, rusted through as if they'd been dredged up from the bottom of the sea. Winnie assumed it was because they had. The barnacles dried and stuck on the side of them made her pretty confident in that assumption. Even the string lights overhead were patched together with wires from different, once-broken, cords. The only things that looked new were the massive jumbotron screens scattered throughout the area.

  Even the concrete beneath her feet was crumbling in places, as if it had never been mixed properly when poured. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t even sure if she’d seen a single tree since she came outside.

  Everything that Winnie saw was part of something else, repurposed to create the inner city.

  “It’s—” the princess paused, “—all trash?”

  “The recycling is sold to Zease from each kingdom. They don’t ask questions, they’re just happy it’s gone and Zease gets to make some money.” Eliesa answered, allowing Winnie some tie to take in the answer before speaking again. “Within this city are some of the most brilliant innovators I’ve ever met that were, unfortunately, dealt a bad hand. They take the scrap and turn it into something new.”

  Winnie didn’t know much about Zease at all. It was only what she could recall from history books, which wasn’t much given that they all were very vague. They played a part in the great war, supplying the other side with weapons, bodies, and supplies.

  Other than those basic facts, that’s about all she knew.

  “How does it work then?” Winnie asked as they pushed through the crowded space.

  “How does what work?” Eliesa answered with a question of her own.

  “Everything here; It seems so different. You mentioned betting,” Winnie’s eyes fell upon a tv as she spoke. “What does betting have to do with anything?”

  Eliesa thought for a moment, trying to decide how to explain it as they walked along. It was a loaded question, to ask how all of Zease worked. She slid her hands to the strap of her backpack, holding on.

  “This place runs kind of like a giant casino. Only, if you run out of money, you can’t leave that casino.”

  Winnie’s eyebrows furrowed at the last bit but before she was able to question it, She was bumped into. Eliesa kept moving, causing Winnie to go around and catch back up to her sister.

  “A casino?” Winnie wanted to make sure she heard her right. “A whole kingdom is like a casino?”

  “Where we are now is what’s called the inner ring,” Eliesa turned her head to look at her as they went along. “There is a middle ring, think of it like middle class, and then the outer ring which is—”

  “Lower class.” Winnie guessed and Eliesa nodded to confirm she was correct.

  “Each ring is surrounded by a giant circle wall. The only openings for those walls are the sea tunnels that lead to the docks in the inner ring, or the train tunnels that have a stop at each ring.” Eliesa continued to explain.

  “Why?” Winnie asked.

  “To keep anyone that can’t afford a train ticket, specifically the outer ring citizens, from entering the inner ring,” Eliesa said, looking back ahead of them as they walked. “If you’re seen on the streets beyond three in the morning, they will send you a ring backwards.”

  “How do you make money then? How do you stay in this ring or, at least, get to come here for a day?” Winnie looked confused as she asked her question. So much seemed to go into keeping the status of this place alive, like this inner ring was some important place to be. As far as she saw it, it really wasn’t much. For the upper class, it was dirty and unkempt. There was nothing lavish about the inner ring at all to her. She didn’t even want to try to imagine the lower class ring.

  “To get money, you have to place a bet on the games throughout the week. There are two games a day; one at noon and one at eight. You can bet from any circle, at an electronic betting station.” Eliesa watched the confusion stay on the little princess’ face as she started to explain the cash flow of Zease. When a man shoved past them, causing them to part, she paused what she was saying until they met back up some ways down the street.

  “These games have different settings and the rules are placed out each day on the screens you see everywhere. You place your bet and wait for the game to play out. Besides the games, smaller cashouts are bars, venues to watch the games, and food stalls around the innermost street right by the game arena. If you came here with some knowledge, a sure way into the inner ring is to be an engineer and make items with the scraps that come in off the docks. There are government officials, doctors, police officers, but the ones with the most money and influence are game-players.” She put stress on the last word.

  “Game-players.” Winnie echoed, Eliesa nodding once again.

  “The game-players play the game, but it’s a one hundred dollar buy-in for them each time. Plus, they have to buy a game-piece and pay for the set up of their game-piece, which could be up there in price depending on the scarcity of the ore to create the controls. It’s a risk because, if you lose, your game-piece can sometimes not be usable again or, at least, not usable for a while. They are the one percent here, the richest of the rich,” She sighed, a tinge of disgust in her voice. “They can afford some losses and still not have much of a dent in their income.”

  The princess’ head felt foggy as she tried to make sense of these new phrases that Eliesa was throwing at her. Winnie started to slide the information together, bit by bit, but with each slide she only seemed to have more questions pop up in her head.

  “So, the outer ring, what do they do for a living if all the money is in these games?”

  “They comb through the shores to find scrap that fell off boats or washed ashore,” She answered before pausing slightly, “It doesn’t sell very well and it’s not often that they find anything at all. So, when that makes them no money, they sign up to be game-pieces to ensure that their family has money to survive on while they’re still alive.”

  Suddenly, Winnie felt dirtier than when she realized she was surrounded by trash. The talk of the set up of the game pieces, the ore, and the betting all swirled in her head at once. She knew the closer they got to their hotel in the inner ring, the closer they got to whatever horrors happened in those games. She slowed to a stop, Eliesa stopping not too far ahead of her and turning around to face her.

  “These game pieces—“ Winnie began, not wanting to say it out loud.

  “Are living people, yes.” Eliesa confirmed. “They fight their games in the very center, in a sunken down colosseum of sorts. There’s not always death but there’s always bloodshed. They wear a device that allows the game-players to control them.”

  It dawned on Winnie then that this was a place where her brother was missing. This was a place where someone had her brother trapped. Who knows what for and why but she could only hope that these games didn’t touch her brother. He was their only hope.

  “Where does Zeken fall into place here?” Winnie asked then, her chest falling up and down sharply as she tried to remain calm.

  Eliesa went to answer but the screens gave her answer for her. There, on all the screens that surrounded them, Zeken’s highlight reel was presented before them. Winnie turned slowly in her place, green eyes landing on the man that tormented her brother. What terrified her the most, besides the fact that he was a game-player, was that the screen was claiming that he was playing today at noon.

  “I see.” Winnie swallowed hard then, slowly twisting to look back to Eliesa. “Would Charlie—?”

  “No.” Eliesa shook her head. “She needs Charlie alive and there is way too much risk in placing him in the game arena. He would have to be crazy to go against her and do that.”

  Winnie nodded but Eliesa’s words didn’t settle her nerves. She knew Zeken well, she had heard Charlie talk about him over and over again. Some days, it was all he wanted to talk about. Right now, though, she was grateful he did because she thought he was that kind of crazy that would put Charlie in that arena. She knew better but she had to hold out hope that Eliesa was right.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  “How far off is the hotel?” Winnie suddenly needed to wash every inch of herself.

  “Not far now, just up ahead.” Eliesa nodded her head to follow along, turning and walking away. Winnie's eyes found a screen once again, looking deep into the lifeless eyes of the man that had her brother before she broke away and followed after her sister.

  Back in the Bronx, Rodgers was waiting for Brenner on the street corner they agreed upon. He was happy to have changed, being back in that broken-in dull red hoodie and jean jacket. His only new addition was a ratty old backpack on his back, the straps duct taped at some points.

  He looked down at his phone to see the time; Brenner was five minutes late. Rodgers assumed that Brenner was not a man that was usually late. He seemed like he was far too uptight to be late.

  While he started to face the fact he may have to do this alone, he heard the man’s voice from down the street.

  “Rodgers!” Brenner got his attention with a heavy-breathed voice while he was only a couple feet away. “Subway was delayed.”

  Rodgers looked him over before he answered the man, looking for something to insult him on. He was wearing plain jeans, a white shirt, and a brown corduroy jacket. He supposed he would blend in rather well.

  “I thought you weren’t coming for a second there,” Rodgers admitted, not able to find some jab at him like he wanted.

  “And let you handle saving Charlie’s life alone?” Brenner raised his eyebrows. “I would never punish a friend like that.”

  Something told Rodgers that it was punishment against Charlie for giving him a shit savior, not the weight of Rodgers having to do it all by himself.

  “Right.” He spoke in a low tone, his face unamused by the joke.

  “Hurry, let’s get a move on.” Brenner said as he pulled on his sleeve slightly. He was clearly anxious but Rodgers chose to ignore it. If he made fun of him too fast after he got a jab in, he would seem desperate.

  “It’s this way.” Rodgers motioned his head before turning and walking, stuffing his hands in his pockets. They walked in silence, Brenner a ways behind him as he led him to the same place Rodgers had found himself in not too long ago.

  How things could have been different if he just went to his brother’s home instead of ending up walking down this alleyway. How things could have been different if he ignored the call to the brew bottle. But no, even now he wanted one. It’s all he wanted, all he could think about despite his brother being in possible danger. He wanted that release the brew brought him more than anything.

  He counted his steps in his head as they went down the alleyway, nothing but the sound of the buzzing city and their footsteps echoing along the walls. He went deeper into the alley before he turned, expecting the shop to come into view.

  Only, there was nothing, no shop was there.

  Brenner rose one brow in confusion as Rodgers counted the steps backwards. Not wanting to throw him off his count, not having complete faith in his concentration skills, Brenner stayed silent.

  It was when Rodgers whispered and stomped his recount for a third time that the agent decided to speak up.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “The shop isn’t here anymore.” Rodgers was slightly panicked in his voice, but he kept his eyes on the wall where the door was supposed to be. “It was a certain number of paces from the building just a couple of nights ago. You have to look at it just right to be able to see the door.”

  Brenner continued to look confused before he took one side step further down the alleyway. He pointed his finger to the wall, looking straight ahead.

  “A door like that?”

  “Now’s not the time to play around.” Rodgers scrunched up his face, angry, before taking one more step and looking to the side.

  Sure enough, much to his full embarrassment, the shop door was right there. His face dropped into annoyance, but his cheeks were hot.

  “Oh, c’mon. Don’t say nothin’.” He marched forwards, yanking the door open and entering the shop. The bell above their heads rang twice as they both entered, even though the door only opened once.

  Brenner looked quite proud of himself as they walked in, because he was, before the door closed behind them.

  “Back so soon?” Sethrin popped up from behind a shelf close to the front door then, leaning forwards through the unit to hang out of it, his body covered by merchandise.

  It was his sudden appearance that caused Brenner to jump a bit. Rodgers couldn’t help but stand up straighter at that, his pride returning.

  “It’s property,” Sethrin spoke to the agent, looking him over in mild annoyance. “You had to have known I was in here somewhere.”

  “You run through those brews too fast—“ He addressed Rodgers then, looking back to one of his top customers.

  “Ah!” Rodgers cut him off, “this is Brenner, an ASA officer.”

  “Agent.” Brenner corrected. He knew there was probably a reason Rodgers phrased it that way, but he wanted the guy to know who he was dealing with. He wanted this man to know he was not someone to mess around with like he already had.

  Sethrin turned his head to the side slightly and ran his tongue over his teeth under his lips with this new information. He looked displeased, like he was lured into a trap or a plan wasn’t going the way he had hoped it would.

  “Right. Now what is this all about, then?” He spoke low, eyes flicking between the two.

  “We need a way into Zease that no one can track.” Brenner decided to ignore the mention of the illegal brew that Sethrin had just alluded to selling Rodgers and instead get to the point.

  “A rule breaker one? Been getting a lot of those.” Sethrin’s mood almost completely changed then, a smile spreading along his features as he stretched his hand through the shelf for a shake. “The name is Sethrin, fine magician of this traveling shoppe.”

  He pronounced the ‘pe’, which made Brenner cringe away from him.

  “I unfortunately know who you are.” Brenner recounted, having looked him up before he left Justin's apartment. “You were kicked out of the New York Academy for Witches and—“

  “Ah, ah, ah.” Sethrin wagged a finger on the hand that was extended. A hand that Brenner never ended up shaking. “We don’t talk like that here. As I said, I’m a fine magician. Not a wizard.”

  “Is that not the same?” Brenner looked confused.

  “It’s not, no, because I’m not allowed to be a wizard, legally.” Sethrin confirmed with a solid nod of his head. “So, legally, I am a party magician.”

  “Okay,” Brenner looked around the shoppe then, wondering where Sethrin thought the party aspect of that story was. “So how can you move the shop if you have no means of magic? You don’t have your wand license. I checked before coming.”

  Rodgers got ready for Sethrin to tell Brenner but Sethrin did one better and showed him the plastic toy wand he got from a children’s magic set. It appeared in his hand with a flick of his wrist before he held it up straight. He was, however, still snaked through the shelving unit so it lessened the effect of his genus loophole.

  ”When you’re down on your luck in Vegas,” Sethrin began, “and there is an actual party magician that is even downer on his luck in Vegas, you fish his plastic wand out of the trash and find yourself some treasure.”

  He swished the plastic wand, smiling far too wide for Brenner’s liking.

  “That thing works?” Brenner asked.

  “Oh yes, it works,” Sethren answered, “Well, uh, sometimes. Sometimes it works.”

  Brenner was not liking this plan so far. He did not need to get lost in the middle of time and space because a piece of plastic sometimes works.

  “Are you going to arrest me for a piece of plastic or do you want to find some other magic shoppe that will take you to Zease?” Sethrin continued once Brenner just stared at him like he thought he was crazy. He was probably looking at him like that because that was exactly what he was thinking.

  “Is that an option?” Brenner looked back at Rodgers.

  “No.” Both Sethrin and Rodgers answered in unison.

  “Then I won’t be arresting you.” Brenner sighed, turning his attention back to the wizard. It was a shame because he did want to arrest him.

  “Great!” Sethrin clapped his hands together. “That’ll be 50 thousand dollars.”

  “Excuse me?” Brenner choked out. “For what? Not arresting you?”

  “For getting you to Zease.” Sethrin finally slithered his way out of the shelving unit and stood up. He walked out from behind the shelving unit to face them directly and Brenner noticed immediately how tall he was. Sethrin was nearly Brenner’s height but he was so narrow. His features were sharp and his hair was dark to contrast his pale skin and sharp cheek bones. Though, Brenner noticed then how light his eyes were, now that they were face to face.

  “I can do five hundred, max.” Brenner shook his head, refusing his price tag.

  Sethrin thought about it for a while, silent and he weighed over his options. He lifted his finger to tap on his chi for effect, just to make Brenner sweat it out.

  “Three fifty and you got a deal,” Sethrin nodded, feeling like that was a fair deal.

  “That’s low—forget it.” Brenner decided not to argue as he reached into his wallet and pulled out some cash to count.

  Rodgers looked at the cash in Brenner’s hand like it was a glass of water and he had been lost in the desert for days. He figured Brenner would’ve taken cash out for this rescue mission, but he never assumed it would be enough to pay that much off.

  “Only pay him half.” Rodgers cut in, looking from Brenner to Sethrin. “It’s like he said, his magic isn’t that reliable when it travels through plastic.”

  Brenner followed his direction as he cut the stack to two one hundred dollar bills and handed it over to the wizard who welcomed it into his palm.

  “A bit more than half of your price given the bills I got,” Brenner informed as he looked from the cash to Sethrin. “You’ll get the one hundred and fifty once we get there.”

  “If we get there.” Sethrin smiled pleasantly as Breenner’s face completely dropped at his words. He whirled his head around to look at Rodgers, who only shrugged. Brenner had no time to protest as Sethrin raised his wand.

  “Hang on.” The wizard cleared his throat and swished the fake wand downwards as she yelled. “Lanuae tabernam!”

  With a sudden lurch forwards, the shop began to stretch itself and contort its way through space in an instant, Brenner not having enough time between Sethrin instructing him to hang on and moving. Rodgers fell over to the ground almost instantly, while Brenner gripped onto one of the shelves.

  Or, at least, he thought had.

  When he looked over, his hand and the shelf had become one. He couldn’t tell where the shelf ended and his hand began. It looked as if you put them both through a blender.

  That wasn’t all, though, much to Brenner’s immediate dislike. His face felt like it was melting to one side, his hair curling off his head as his shoulders started pulling in two different directions.

  Then, with an audible pop, it all snapped back to normal and Brenner gasped as he regained his balance. He pressed his eyes together tightly and shook his head, like he was trying to regain control of his body that was just turned into the human equivalent of pancake batter.

  Slowly, Rodgers got up from the floor and stumbled his way to the door. He pressed his body into the wall next to the door before pushing it open. He tripped over his feet, moving outside before he almost ran into a couple on rollerblades. His eyes looked around at the sandy beaches in front of him before he turned, looking up to the high rise hotels.

  “This is Miami!” Rodgers came back inside, the door swinging shut behind him.

  Brenner closed his eyes but this time out of desperation. He did not want to go through all of that again, he didn’t think he could handle it. There wasn’t a word muttered from him as he tried his best to not throw up at the thought of flinging themselves through space once more.

  “Right, but at least we’re going in the right direction.” Sethrin countered Rodgers, who stared him down.

  ”Sethrin,” Rodgers said in a low tone as the wizard raised his wand once more, “Just, please, stay focused.”

  “Bibbity bop—I’m just messing with you—Lanuae tabernam!”

  Rodgers immediately fell back to the floor once the shoppe moved, hitting his head on the wooden floor boards. He had to admit, he saw stars for a moment there but he didn’t know if that was because he hit his head or the fact that the entire universe had momentarily been inside the shoppe. Brenner, not able to help the bartender nor willing to let go of his shelf, just shut his eyes this time and just prayed for it to all be over soon.

  They came to a stop in the layers between realms and like Sethrin didn’t land a plane right. The whole shop skidded across the plain of reality, merchandise flying off the shelves and sending both Brenner and Sethrin to the floor. Rodgers, however, went sliding all the way down the main aisle to the back wall where the check-out counter was.

  The shop eventually came to a stop, leaving behind a mess around the entire place. It was silent for a moment before a groan sounded from Brenner. He rolled to his side, looking around but not getting up.

  Rodgers, however, got to his hands and knees before he allowed himself to look around. There were plants on the floor, broken glass from different potions, a sign had even fallen off the wall and had landed right next to where he had been laying.

  It was then in his gaze that he spotted a single brew in a basket under the counter. His eyes went up, looking to Brenner who was back to laying on his back while holding his head in his hands with his eyes closed. Silently, without even a breath, he reached over and grabbed the bottle, stuffing it in his giant coat pocket before Brenner or Sethrin could notice.

  “Everyone alright?” Brenner called, his eyes slowly opening.

  “I’m good.” Sethrin happily answered, laying on the ground covered in herbs that came off the nearby wall.

  “Yeah, less concerned about you.” Brenner mumbled as he finally made his way to his feet. He stretched his back slightly, wiping some of the debris off his pants before looking around. When he didn’t see the ex prince, he called out for him.

  “Rodgers?”

  “I’m okay.” Rodgers called from the back of the shop, standing up fully then and dusting himself off, as well.

  Brenner acknowledged Rodgers with a silent nod before he went and opened the door to see where they were. The same smell Winnie had been hit with filled the shop ten fold and Brenner recoiled at it while his eyes adjusted to the sight before him.

  The land before the shoppe was marsh and looked as if one step outside would send Brenner’s foot under the mud up to his calf. At least, he hoped it was mud.

  Fires burned in random patches of the wasteland, Brenner supposed they were patches of slowly exhaling gas from under the surface that kept them ablaze. Far off in the distance, no more than a half a mile, were propped up water-logged planks to make little huts. There were clusters of at least twelve ever so often.

  The huts aren’t what caught his attention for much longer. No, casting a shadow as dark as night onto these little shanty towns was a monstrous stone wall that was towering above them. It had to have been at least thirty stories high from what he could guess.

  Brown eyes wandered to the side of the closest shanty town where some barely-put-together steps, was one single train station where the tunnel through the wall was temporarily chainlinked off.

  Rodgers came up behind Brenner and stayed silent as he took in the scene before them. He pressed his lips together tightly and, in that moment, reminded himself that maybe life in his studio apartment wasn’t so bad after all. His hand found the outside of his pocket then, his fingers tracing along the bottle’s outline absentmindedly.

  “The outer ring,” Sethrin chimed in with a more serious tone. He was standing not too far off behind them with his eyes on the floor. He did not want to view the despair outside.

  “Why would someone choose to live like this?” Brenner didn’t take his eyes off the marshland.

  “There’s no choice in living this way.” Sethrin explained, shaking his head, “these people were tossed aside from every one of your kingdoms and each of the ASA agencies. These are the people that were dealt the world's worst hand, each story unique yet gut wrenching. Out here, they were even tossed out by Zease, itself. A place that takes anyone, still doesn’t want them.”

  Rodgers turned to look at Sethrin then and something told him he knew this place well. The glossy look in his eyes and the thoughts that were clear on his face told him all he needed to know. Rodgers had to try and think if there was ever a time that the wizard had shown genuine deep emotion in his times stopping and he supposed, no. He hadn’t.

  “I used to call this place my home after I was kicked out of school,” Sethrin spoke, confirming Rodgers’ suspicions without him needing to ask. “My parents, my siblings, the friends that I had made; they all refused to even look at me. It was my uncle that found me here, pulled me out of my misery and taught me the ways of the shoppe. Without him, I would still be just like those people out there, breaking their backs for whatever piece of trash they can trade in for a bet that could take it all away.”

  Brenner’s eyes finally peeled away from the outside as he turned to look at the disgraced wizard. While he was there this whole time, judging him for what his file said, he never thought of the other side of that fall from grace. Sethrin was part of an amazing wizard family, the Shgani’s, that helped the wizarding community flourish in the modern age. He was an only child that was set to do amazing things until one bad move landed him into an exclusive list of the world’s worst wizards in history.

  “Everyone is always one bad choice away from being here,” Sethrin spoke up again, looking up to lock eyes with Brenner.

  The agent swallowed hard then at his gaze. He had successfully humanized himself in Brenner’s mind. He lifted his chin then and held out his hand for that handshake he turned down before.

  “You’ve done the two of us, and possibly the entire ASA, a great service by getting us here. I am in your debt,” Brenner wanted to give credit where credit was due. He saw no other way for them to get here.

  Sethrin looked at the hand and took it, shaking it before they both let go.

  “You’ll have to make your way to the center from here but I have some things that can help you get there.” Sethrin motioned the two men to his counter, side stepping over some things as he went. He scurried behind it like a baby deer before lifting up a small box and prying it open.

  Inside sat two scrap metal bracelets that he gave to each of them carefully, as if they would fall apart if they sensed any sudden movement.

  “These will get you onto the train and into the center ring.” Sethrin explained.

  “Thank you.” Brenner said and Rodgers echoed right after.

  It was then, in the corners of his mind, that the wizard looked like his thoughts were stirring. He moved like he was going to get something else, stopped and returned like he decided not to, then moved again. Only, this time, he was more sure of himself.

  He rummaged through the bottom shelf and Rodgers’ heart sped up. He believed he had been found out for stealing, his hand tracing once again over the brew bottle in his denim pocket. When Sethrin stood again, Rodgers held his breath.

  When no accusations came, Rodgers looked to the business card Sethrin held in his hand.

  “Should you—” He paused, running his finger over the sides of the card like he was daydreaming about a future that would do him no good. “—Should you need me—” he held the card out to Brenner, locking eyes with him once again. “—rip this and my shoppe will come.”

  Brenner reached out and took the business card from him then, reading it over in his mind. All it said was ‘tear to make your wildest desires a reality’ and Brenner didn’t exactly know how to take that. He flipped it over, reading Sethrin's full name on the other side before he looked back up to him.

  “Use it at the correct time,” Sethrin spoke slowly, like there was a message there that Brenner couldn’t quite grasp. Like there was more than the wizard was letting on but Brenner knew, with that deep look in his eyes that contrasted with how he had first greeted him, that he wasn’t going to get out of him. This was something he would have to figure out on his own entirely. Whether it was plausible deniability or the shoppe being bugged, this was only a piece in a much bigger puzzle and it seemed Brenner was never going to get the picture that was on the box.

  He put the card in his wallet and took out the remainder of the cash, holding it out to Sethrin.

  “Your payment.” He concluded.

  “Not needed.” Sethrin put up his hand out of refusal. “Just do what you’re here to do.”

  “Thank you,” Brenner nodded his head and turned then, walking towards the door. Rodgers however, remained staring at the man for a while longer.

  Sethrin only stared back at him, holding himself differently than when he came into the shoppe so many times before. He nearly saw… grief on his face. Written on his features like Rodgers was an animal he had just hit on the road.

  “Rodgers,” Brenner called to the bartender, ripping his gaze away from Sethrin. “We don’t have time to waste. Let’s move.”

  Rodgers stepped forwards then, glancing back only one last time before he exited the shoppe with Brenner, the shop disappearing immediately after the door was closed.

  They were now fully standing in the wasteland that was the outer ring. Completely alone until the huts off in the distance.

  “Let’s just get on that train, fast.” Rodgers muttered as he sloshed his shoes around in the marsh.

  It was twice as hard to walk in the thick mud, it held their shoes tightly. Rodgers had decided sliding his feet through the water instead of trying to lift them up over and over again was much easier. Brenner, though, went with a full high knee to try and move along.

  When they were not too far off from the huts, they noticed scavengers wading in the deeper part of the marsh. They were up to their waists, digging away and not paying either of them much mind. If they weren’t a piece of scrap metal, they didn’t care about them.

  Brenner’s eyes landed on a young woman, hunched over with a crooked spine he could see so clearly in her malnourished body as she searched. She looked as if one heavy piece of scrap hoisted wrong could snap her in half. Honestly, he wasn’t entirely sure a gust of wind couldn’t do the same either.

  Her eyes, sullen and dark with thick bags under them, came to meet him and he looked away, immediately.

  It took an enormous effort from them both to make their way to the train station that Brenner had spotted from the Shoppe. By the time they got to the steps, they felt a burning sensation in their thigh muscles that Brenner would liken to having his pants set on fire.

  Rodgers used the steps to scrape off what he could from his shoes, wanting to keep the pair clean, While Brenner took the time to look around. He had noticed then, at the bottom of the wall, that the only piece of technology out here seemed to be betting stations. They sat embedded into the concrete, ready to be used for someone who had the funds.

  Nothing was exchanged between the two of them as they waited for the train at the station. Rodgers didn’t think Brenner wanted to talk anyway, he seemed to be in his own thoughts as he overlooked the marsh from the tall train platform.

  Rodgers leaned against the railing before it leaned with his weight. It was a bit too loose for his liking and their surroundings told him there wasn’t much maintenance happening out here, so he stood back up.

  A screeching sound came from inside the tunnel just as Rodgers stood tall once again and what looked like an old city subway car soldered together with an electric trolley car pulled in. The chain link gate opened with an equally awful screech beforehand, which made Rodgers’ hands come up to meet his ears in an effort to keep his hearing.

  Rodgers and Brenner shared a look of concern before walking up slowly to the door of the subway car. When the doors didn’t open after a moment, the two looked around the frame until they spotted a scanning pad to their right. Brenner lifted his bracelet to it and the doors flung open, but only for him. They shut immediately behind him, Rodgers almost getting his nose clipped in the door.

  After taking a moment to fully regain from his shock, he lifted his wrist and scanned his own bracelet and walked onto the cobbled together train. They both took a seat on the far side, sitting with their backs to the windows in their continued silence.

  The train lurched forwards with two clunks, causing Rodgers to have flashbacks to the shoppe for a moment. He winced slightly like he was bracing to be sent down to the floor, but the train just slowly started to move towards the hole in the wall. He settled back down in his seat before he looked over to Brenner.

  The agent was stoic, sitting there with his eyes planted on the seat in front of him. Rodgers could tell he had been deep in thought and probably had been since they waded through the mud.

  “You alright?” Rodgers spoke up then, finally breaking their silence.

  “I just couldn’t imagine all this was next to so many kingdoms and no one has tried to help.” Brenner spoke then, his eyes not moving off the seat before him.

  “No one knew but the ones here.” Rodgers assured.

  “I was so focused on leaving Laven, finding a way to join the ASA and do good when I was a kid, I had no thought that our own kingdoms needed help.” Brenner looked over to him then, a hurt that seemed so genuine in his eyes.

  “Even if you stayed,” Rodgers countered, deciding for once not to be rude, “you wouldn’t have been able to help these people. There was no path in which you found your way here to know about it.”

  “No?” Brenner raised his eyebrows. “How many people down there do you think are Lavasian? Without that scholarship, I could’ve been right alongside them. You know as much about me as I know of you, which is only through word of mouth. We aren’t friends. You don’t know if I would’ve found myself here or not.”

  Brenner was a Lavan Excellence Scholarship winner, a scholarship that chose only one child a year in Lavan to get a full ride to the specialized academy the ASA had. It was their way of ensuring Lavan had some representation in the organization.

  Brenner’s background was no secret, even Rodgers was familiar with Brenner growing up in one of the lesser neighborhoods of Laven. He read about it in the news when Charlie and Brenner took their positions in New York as there was a special article released on each of them about their backgrounds. When the family you’ve been avoiding pops up in the mainland supernatural news, you pay attention.

  The article had said that Brenner was raised by his grandparents, his parents passing away when he was seven and his younger brother was only five. Rodgers remembered that he had stated in the interview that half of his paycheck from the ASA went directly to his grandparents to help them pay for a home that was safe to live in in a nicer part of the Lavan’s main city.

  But, Brenner was right. They didn’t really know each other beyond what was said through the news or word of mouth. Rodgers didn’t know what happened when he was growing up and he had certainly never visited his childhood neighborhood to know just how bad it was for him.

  “Without you getting that scholarship, I would be here instead of with my family and your grandparents wouldn’t have been able to leave that neighborhood.” Rodgers admitted, trying not to turn any of it into a fight for once. He could have very well snapped back at him but he chose to be a little nicer. “It was the ASA programs you helped put in place for displaced supernaturals that allowed me to come register in New York without any paperwork and set up a new life there.”

  A lot of Brenner’s first few years at the ASA was dedicated to setting up systems for the less fortunate, claiming to understand the hardship they experienced. It was people like Rodgers that were able to use those programs to start over. They had only been a couple years old at this point, some even within their first year, but Rodgers knew plenty of people that had benefitted.

  They locked eyes and Rodgers tried to give him a smile. It was broken and strange but it was genuine. A kind of smile he hadn’t had on his face in so long that it felt foreign to him.

  “The path you choose is one you can’t undo,” Rodgers said, “but it doesn’t dictate whether or not you can’t walk down the one you wanted to see. It might not be the same as if you picked it first but you could probably still see all the sights it could offer. If you want to help these people, you still have a chance. Even if I believe you already helped by giving people another option.”

  Brenner raised his eyebrows, surprised that the ex prince even had this sort of kindness in him. He supposed he had to listen to his own words then, they didn’t know each other. They weren’t friends. Brenner had only judged Rodgers based on what he knew about him, same as he had done for Sethrin.

  “Who told you that? because, no offense, I doubt you came up with that yourself,” Brenner brought some light back into their conversation, smiling as if to say he did appreciate him.

  “An old friend,” Rodgers said, shrugging before something caught his eye just beyond Brenner’s head. His face dropped as they entered the next tunnel to the inner ring, Brenner following his gaze to try and see what could’ve possibly caught his attention like that. Rodgers said nothing, though. He stood then, grabbing the back of the seat and craning his head to see if he could spot it again.

  “What?” Brenner questioned, turning back to look at Rodgers.

  “I could’ve sworn—” Rodgers’ voice choked back into his throat as they came out of the tunnel, Brenner’s face dropping as he stood up then too. They looked from the screen to each other, sharing a look that had little hope.

  In the center ring, in one of their very few hotels, Winnie was splashing water on her face to attempt to get rid of the smell caked into her nostrils. She stood up, patting her face dry with a scratchy and thin towel before exiting the bathroom.

  When she felt a slight breeze and noticed the balcony door was open, she looked around for her half sister but found no one.

  “Eliesa?” Winnie spoke to the empty room as bare feet walked across the cold floor. She moved the curtain, exiting to the balcony to where Eliesa was standing there. She looked her over before tuning her head to see what was the matter. It was then that every fear came true for Winnie in an instant.

  “He must be insane.” Eliesa whispered as she stood in disbelief.

  Before them, every screen, even the smallest ones, advertised Charlie’s face as Zeken’s game-piece for the noon game.

  Charlie, their only hope of stopping the end of the world, was going to be fighting for his life in only a couple of hours.