At that moment, after being smashed in the face, Relian dropped the act. He stood without a sound, showing an expression so unlike Ray's normal mix of mischievousness, repressed anger, and loneliness. There was no doubt this was a different person. Not that Luke ever doubted it. Even from a distance, Weaver's Eye told him everything he needed to know.

  In Ray's shoulder, where he'd been wounded when they left Relian's dungeon, a wound of corruption had taken hold, like rotting flesh. It spread outward through Ray's chest and had entered his heart. Strands of it even pushed into Ray's brain. As if that wasn't bad enough, the corruption wasn't only physical. The meta-heart and mana channels were affected as well, and they seemed ridden with sickness and filth to Luke's senses.

  This was Relian. The Fallen Shepherd's essence. As long as it remained inside Ray, there would be no getting his friend back.

  "Luke the Lifeweaver," Relian said, even his voice sounding different from Ray's.

  Luke pointed the staff at Relian. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

  "Your quaint little subsystem has not yet reached the heights to allow travel to and from your home planet in any meaningful way. I've escaped one prison only to find myself in another."

  Relian took a deep breath in through his broken nose. "Even the air is foul. If this Earth of yours offered more, perhaps I could have made it my home, but alas, you have a long way to go in almost every regard."

  "You want to leave Earth?" Luke said. "Just get the hell out of here. But you're not taking Ray with you."

  Relian raised an eyebrow. "Ray? This bag of flesh offers little except for stealth, and stealth is for those who cannot rule from a place of strength. For those who cower, afraid of the shadows cast by giants passing by."

  He took another step toward Luke, getting a little too close for comfort, then gestured with an open palm toward the stiff Nymh. "Though you are right on one point. I am searching for a way out of this place. On occasion, just the thing you most need falls into your lap. My ever-vigilant little starlings informed me of an interesting item. Show them, dear."

  Nymh grimaced and looked to be struggling against her own arm moving as she held up her palm. The Gem of Communication appeared in it.

  "You want the gem?" Luke asked.

  "I have the gem," Relian corrected, taking another step forward. "To use it beyond its limited function, I need something more."

  Luke moved back a little, trying to keep some distance. "The Deep Dweller said it wanted the gem too. For travel?"

  A shudder ran through Relian even as he continued another step toward Luke. "Nasty creatures."

  "You told the DIA that you wanted me to come here," Luke said, taking another step back, ending up almost falling back over a desk. "Why? To taunt me with Ray's body?"

  "Such things are beneath us both," Relian said, a smile creeping onto his face. "But I did ask for your attendance. You are correct about that. I have a need for you."

  "You need my help?" Luke asked.

  "Not quite. I need you. Well, I needed you. Turns out there are some new and interesting quirks in your integration. One of which is having more than one Integrated per class. Usually, choosing a class renders it unavailable until you perish. Only then can another choose that path."

  Luke: "Milla. Curtis. I think there's another Lifeweaver somewhere in this building. A Dr. Stergios. You need to find him and get him out of here right now."

  Milla and Curtis backed out through the door, leaving Luke alone. Relian raised an eyebrow, and his grin grew wider. "Oh, you have already put the gem to good use, I see."

  "What makes you say that?" Luke asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  "Milla. Curtis. I think there's another Lifeweaver, et cetera, et cetera. A primitive sort of communication. Un-encrypted. Unsafe. Little better than the cellular phones you use. Then again, it’s a quirk of the gem. It’s an ancient type of item."

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Dammit. That bastard could listen in on what was supposed to be private conversations.

  "Yes, I can. Nothing is private to me."

  Luke looked up, unable to hide the shock he was feeling. "My thoughts?"

  Milla: "Haven't found anyone named Stergios yet."

  "I know everything," Relian said. "And you need not search for your dear physician friend. He is right here." He gestured to a side door, through which a man walked in. Luke recognized the stiff, shambling walk from when Penny and the others entered the hut where Luke first confronted the Fallen Shepherd.

  "Stergios?" Luke asked the man, who was a few years older than Tim, with short, dark, curly hair and a well-kept beard. His eyes were deep-set, dark, and full of terror. Stergios didn't answer. Couldn't answer.

  Luke: "Stergios is here. You can come back. But be careful. Something is off."

  Curtis: "Maybe it's the necromancer?"

  Milla: "We're coming."

  Weaver's Eye gave Luke the sense that while Stergios was fine, with no trace of the corruption present in Ray, there was something in there that wasn't quite right. Unsure of what it was, Luke needed to keep Relian talking. Information was lacking here. Luke needed answers.

  "You have your Lifeweaver, and I'm guessing you're going to take him over, just like what you did to Ray, you goddamn parasite. That still doesn't answer the question. Why did you call me here? Why not just take the gem, infect Stergios, and then leave this place, like you wanted?"

  "A chat between old friends, perhaps?" Relian said, showing obvious enjoyment of Luke's confusion. "Or maybe I'm looking for a disciple?"

  "No," Luke began, thinking as he kept his eyes on Relian. "That's not it."

  Relian took another step forward. "No?"

  "You need me for something. Don't you? All this gore. The people in pieces. Hostages. Even allowing Ray to devolve into that state, looking like he's about to collapse from malnourishment. You're trying to make me angry."

  "Anger is a feeling one should embrace on occasion, but you are incorrect. I have no use for your anger."

  "You need to move from Ray to Stergios to use the gem, but you can't. Can you?" Relian's expression didn't change, but there was something that told Luke he was on the right track.

  "You see The Greater System. Do you not?" Relian asked, moving forward just a little more. "You see the threads that bind us. Those very threads will set us free. All of us."

  He was getting far too close for comfort now, and Luke reached out with the quarterstaff to push him away. "I was right then. You need me to what, put you into Stergios somehow? I won't do it. No way!"

  Relian put his hands out to the sides. "Look at your friend. See Ray and what he's become. Malnourished, yes, but not through choice. This weak flesh cannot hold my presence. He will succumb soon. You deduced correctly, Luke. You must transfer my essence to another host if you wish to save your friend."

  Luke shook his head and set his jaw. "No."

  "No?" Relian asked, raising an eyebrow.

  In that moment, Curtis and Milla charged through the door. The sound made Luke take his eyes off the monster in front of him and turn to look over his shoulder.

  Relian growled. "Then die!"

  Before Luke had a chance to turn his attention back, Relian had gone into stealth. On reflex, Luke swung the quarterstaff through the air, aiming for where he'd been standing. It struck nothing, and the blow put him off balance. Shifting left while stepping back, Luke raised a hand to guard against an anticipated blow.

  It did nothing to stop the long dagger as it pierced through his shoulder. If he hadn't twisted into that awkward position, the weapon would've gone straight into Luke's heart. Attempting to fend off the invisible foe, Luke lashed out with Threads of Mana, moving the threads in wide arcs in front of him, but struck nothing but air.

  "You lacked the ruthlessness needed to save your friend. Now, you have failed," Relian whispered in his ear. He was standing behind Luke.

  Before he had a chance to react, Luke felt a hand placed on his arm. In horror, he watched as the limb came free under Relian's fingers, leaving nothing but a stump. There was no pain or loss of sensation, even, but having your limb taken from you was horrific. Still, it was not enough to put Luke out of the fight. Not yet.

  Taking a step forward, Luke spun to face his opponent, wobbled a little because of balance issues with only one arm and a wound in the shoulder, and used Threads of Mana. Reaching into Relian's chest, he grabbed the asshole’s meta-heart in one thread and readied Needle of Life on a second. Luke was about to plunge an attack right into Relian's mana center when he stopped himself and pulled back. If he did that, Ray would die.

  No, he needed to find another way. Having retrieved his arm with a third thread, Luke put it into position and reconnected the mana channels, just like he'd done on the Fallen Shepherd's test subject back in the pink dungeon. It had been shortsighted of Relian to allow Luke to practice putting people back together.

  "Not a poor display," Relian said. "But I was hoping for better."

  Luke winced as he healed the wound in his shoulder from Relian's earlier attack. "Let my friend go!"

  "Strong words for one who is about to leave the mortal world behind."

  Relian disappeared again, but this time, Luke was ready. While Weavesense didn't work the way he'd hoped by revealing people in stealth, he had another skill available that did something similar. In the moment of confusion after Relian entered stealth the first time, he'd used his available skill point and placed it in Weaver's Echo.

  Weaver’s Echo [Passive]: A part of you lingers in those touched by your weave.

  It gave Luke a sense of the person he'd used Threads of Mana on. That included the person's location. Even obscured by stealth, Luke had a clear idea of where Relian was standing.

  Right by the door out of the room. The door Milla and Curtis just rushed in through.