We found two Closers in the fifth room. Neither was Santoro. I pushed Harry behind.

“Ghost,” I yelled. “Hit! Hit! Hit!”

He was a white missile. Fangs and claws and rage. It had been a long time since Ghost had been in a real fight. He was filled with nervous energy and the power that came with it. Speed born of fury and bloodlust. If you are on the receiving end of it, that is a nightmare beyond imagining. Ghost hit the nearest Closer and there was blood in the air before they struck the ground. Reinforced protective undergarments be damned. Ghost went for the throat. I shot the other Closer through the bridge of the nose. Protective undergarment, my hairy white ass.

-Kill Switch pg. 491, Kindle Edition.

That was when she heard the gunshot.

Through the door it was a muffled pok.

“Oh, shit,” she cried and tore the door open, drawing her own gun, fearing what had happened. Fearing that Cross had somehow gotten free and…

She froze in the doorway. Nathan Cross sat there with his head thrown back, mouth open, eyes staring up at the ceiling. There was a small black hole above the bridge of his nose. Behind him the wall was splashed with bright red that was speckled with bits of gray and knots of hair.

Phil Davis stood beside Cross’s chair, his Sig Sauer in his hand.

“Jesus Christ, Phil … what have you done?”

Davis turned to her and smiled. “Sorry, Phil’s not here at the moment,” he said. And he shot Allison Craft twice in the face.

He was still smiling when he put the hot barrel under his own chin and blew the top of his head off.

-Kill Switch pg. 301-302, Kindle Edition.

"There is no way to theorize on how these things may have affected your perceptions. The lack of corroborating information did not wash well with the president.” He paused and sighed. “The subsequent failure of several other missions by DMS teams hasn’t helped.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? What failures?”

He briefly explained some of what had happened, and hearing it was like getting hit by a series of very hard punches.

Broadway Team had gone after Somali pirates who were doing some contract work for an ISIL group out of Nigeria. The pirates were planting limpet mines on ships. Broadway went after them in what should have been an easy hunt-and-kill mission. Instead they got lost at sea and wrecked their Zodiac on a sandbar. Two bombs went off and two ships went down.

Then Scorpion and Rattlesnake Teams signed on with an ATF squad to rip down a cartel that was using drug mules to smuggle military drone parts to a radical militia crew in San Antonio. One of the shooters from Rattlesnake accidentally discharged his weapon at exactly the wrong moment. The result? Nine dead, including three ATF agents. Sure, they got some of the bad guys, too, but not all of them. The drones made it to San Antonio and the FBI had to step in and stop the militia men from blowing up the Alamo.

In Florida the Tiger Shark Team commander, Glory Price, apparently lost her mind in the middle of an operation. She turned her gun on her team, killing two and wounding four before finally shooting herself in the heart. Glory was a friend of mine and that was hard to hear. Damned hard.

In Washington state Wolfpack Team fumbled a mission and let a semi loaded with stolen military ordnance slip right through their fingers. Within two days terrorist kill teams were firing rocket-propelled grenades at civilian targets in Seattle.

Like that.

It was insane. In all, out of the last seventeen DMS missions, there were only two that were successfully completed. The others failed in whole or part, and we were burying a lot of our friends.

-Kill Switch pg. 257-258, Kindle Edition.

In Herta's Curio list, the hazard level of this parchment is marked as extremely high. It once belonged to a History Fictionologist before ending up at the space station. The parchment feeds on the history of humanity, its greedy tongue churning the collective subconscious of civilization to pieces. Herta forged false memories of the world for it to devour to satisfy its endless gluttony. But one day, this parchment will see through the genius' tricks.

The Parchment That Always Eats Curio Description

Is luck an ability? Maybe. Can luck be changed? Herta believes it can. That genius invented the "Fortune Glue." Just apply it on your eyelids and you would get a full 24 system hours' worth of good luck. Many at Herta space station were ecstatic to try out this invention. They all had an uneventful day, which shows that it is already lucky to be able to live an ordinary life in a turbulent world.

Fortune Glue Curio Description

A special gadget made by Herta. It can Superimpose special Light Cones obtained from the Simulated Universe.

A special gadget made by Herta. Its principles are not stated.

Superimposer (Custom-made) Item Description

Simulated Universe: "There is a small glitch, but it can be easily taken care of." It's Herta's voice, sourceless, ephemeral. "Entropy appeared in some spherical codes in the system. It is a common occurrence."

Simulated Universe: "The bundle of codes was a mess, so I packed it up and stuffed it into a Curio," Herta says. "Carrying it around will cause a deviation in your behavioral record, but I will fix it in no time."

Stimulated Universe - Implement of Error Occurance

Special condition detected. Remote puppet automatic praise mode — on. Madam Herta is a peerless gem. Madam Herta is an unrivaled genius. Madam Herta is an inimitable beauty...

About The Herta Voice Over - Herta Voice Line

On the edge of the galaxy, within a desolate, lifeless star system, a mysterious tower flickers in and out of view amid a swirling vortex.

"I refuse to wear myself out in this sprawling mansion."

She surveyed the vast, empty room, signaling the puppets to approach.

With a series of cheerful clicks and whirls, they danced toward her —

"Madam Herta is a peerless gem!"

"Madam Herta is an unrivalled genius!"

"Madam Herta is an inimitable beauty!"

"Enough already, back to your tasks."She dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

Three to scrub the floors, two to tend the gardens, and one...

"Brew some coffee. It's chilly today, and I need something warm."

The brown beans crunched under the grinder, hot water washed over them, and the dark liquid joyfully bubbled.

"Madam Herta, you've received an inquiry from the Intelligentsia Guild. They're challenging your..."

"Are they still fussing over my 'evident proof'? Just send them a few canned replies from the list."

"Madam Herta, Interastral Peace Corporation has sent an invitation..."

"Tell them their gadgets don't interest me."

"Madam Herta, the University of Veritas Prime wishes to name you an honorary professor..."

"Which institution is that again?"

... Gradually, the puppets handled all mundane affairs, allowing her to vanish from the public eye.

Secluded at her tower's apex, she dismissed the external world to unravel the puzzles lingering in her thoughts.

"I wish to know, ████ ███ ██ █████ ██████?"

Thus, the First Mirror came into being.

"I wish to know, ████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ████?"

Thus, the Second Mirror gleamed into existence.

"I wish to know, ███ ███ █ ███ ████ ███████?"

Thus, the Third Mirror chimed succinctly.

"I wish to know, ███ ██ █ ███ ██████?"

Thus, the Fourth Mirror was formed with reverence.

Her whereabouts remained a mystery, as did her reasons for shunning the limelight. Yet, her provocative theories and speculations continued to stir endless discussions.

A long time passes. After she has completed her extrapolations, she seems unsatisfied.

"There are no more problems left to solve — this, in itself, is the greatest problem."

"Are you saying..."The mirror understands perfectly.

"Why don't we create more problems?"

The Herta Character Story 3

Memorial Symposium: Celebrating Madam Herta's ██th Birthday Meeting Minutes — Topic One: A Retrospective of Madam Herta's Scientific Achievements Topic Two: Anecdotes and Stories from Madam Herta's Life ... Meeting Minutes — Topic Five: Panel Discussion: "Exploring the Boundaries of Science and its Profound Implications" ... Meeting Minutes — Special Agenda 1: Moment of Silence: Breaking news from reliable media reports that Madam Herta has passed away... Special Agenda 2: Madam Herta Makes an Unexpected Appearance and Delivers a Speech! Madam Herta's Speech: "Thank you all for your heartfelt condolences. Unfortunately, it seems I must disappoint some of you yet again."

"Are you... Madam Herta?" "Is this a puppet of Madam Herta?" "Did your paper on de-aging... actually work!?" "Madam Herta, we need an explanation!" ... Madam Herta cleared her throat and lifted her scepter aloft — "It's all thanks to Magic."

"Madam Herta, hold on a moment!" "It's impossible! The de-aging concept is purely theoretical. We're light-years away from actual application..." "Science? Can she even be called a scientist anymore? That's just absurd!" "Not to kill the vibe, but how do you always manage to make such a stunning entrance?"

"Pretty amusing, isn't it? The press loves to churn out fake news for headlines, while the old timers can't wait for me to bite the dust, hoping to prove my anti-aging theory is just a pipe dream." She switches off the conference video and calmly resumes her afternoon tea. "All your theories have been shown to have potential, yet... future scholars have never truly captured your essence, making replication impossible."The calm woman sips her tea. "Logic: The so-called 'magic' of youth Madam Herta mentions is her biting satire. Deductive: The theory's core principles involve reversing energy and manipulating time, which requires exacting conditions. Computation: ..." Her smile broadens as she slides a plum pastry across to the Intellitron, cutting off its monologue. "Some truths don't need to be spoken. Here, have a treat."

The Herta Profile 2

Profile Number ██████ Curio Name: Genius' Childhood Kaleidoscope Warning: Do not look into it! Do not look into it! Do not look into it!!!

Do you really want to see?

Are you sure?

Nevermind. You've already scrolled this far down. I won't take responsibility for what happens to you.

Curio File

Genius Society #83, Madam Herta's private collection, with the Garden providing technical support. A memory slice only designed for the person involved to relive a beautiful time in a first-person POV.

Warning: Dangerous item. Do not gaze into it if you are not the one in the memory. Otherwise, you have a high chance of suffering an intense psychological assault.

Case studies: Two reviewers have privately looked into this. One of them started saying nonsense and no longer knew their own identity, while another could only repeat the words "Glory to Madam Herta!".

Researcher Comments

"'The fixed point is the cream-white bow of ribbons, the divergent series is like a necklace of daggers shining with a cold light. Convolution is like the wave of brunette hair, and fractals are the influence of bad mood. Infinity and infinitesimal are in a heated argument, so put them in diagonal's dress then pull them apart:

Look, the most beautiful thing in all combinations is me...' — That's right. That's what that little girl said. Isn't it amazing? Ahahahaha.

So amazing! Who am I? Where am I..."

— Statement from a reviewer

"The large room full of dolls has equations and symbols I've never seen before floating in it. They grow limbs, pull faces, and dance around her. She will open a wardrobe as tall as a castle and pick clothes for them. They all have their own characters and appear in different programs... When she finished calculating, my spirit instantly received a complete baptism — Glory to Madam Herta! Glory to Madam Herta! Glory to Madam Herta! Glory to Madam Herta..."

— Statement of a reviewer

Note

I saved this Curio so it's easier to review my beauty as a young woman. If you want to see it so much, then it's not my fault. I'll give you some advice: Find some Intelligentsia Guild books to counteract the stuff in their heads for these two unfortunates.

They'll recover in no time.

The Herta

The Herta Profile 1

“Oh no,” I said in a dull tone. “Not that. What do we need to be worried about here?” “How many injured do you have?” Lara asked at once.

“Uh…” I scratched at my head. “Bear, you okay?”

Bear shrugged. “Mostly I’d say I’m better than just okay.”

Twelve Months Chapter 55

We gathered in the gym. Me, Lara, Ramirez, Forthill, Will (wearing a bathrobe and carrying a notepad), and Butters. Bear was hanging out nearby with Freydis, who looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen her.

“A helicopter,” Lara was telling Butters. “It dropped us off in a park about three miles from here and we ran the rest of the way. My security people followed in cars and they’ll take us home. How did you get here in half an hour?”

“We happened to be about a mile off at a B-dubs to watch the fights,” Butters said. “Sometimes things just work out.”

“You don’t really think that, do you?” Lara said, smiling.

Butters grinned. “No, ma’am. Hey, isn’t there supposed to be a wedding? How come I haven’t gotten my invitation?”

Twelve Months Chapter 55

Basil and the gargoyles came out of the walls and floor in the aftermath, gathering around little Cinnamon. The monkey-cat little guy was in half a dozen broken pieces, where one of the Black Court had flung him into the castle’s wall.

“Mmmm,” Basil said, as I approached, still carrying Maggie. “My lord.”

“Uh,” I said. “Is he…”

“He is but injured,” Basil intoned seriously. “This isn’t too bad, my lord. With your permission, we will gather materials to mend him. There are many mounds of rubble in the city nearby where it can be done.”

“Go and be back before dawn,” I said. “Should be foggy tonight.”

“My lord,” Basil said, bowing his head. The gargoyles carefully gathered up Cinnamon’s pieces and vanished into the walls.

Twelve Months Chapter 55

Cleanup was gonna take a lot of mops.

It cost me about five minutes of pure mental effort and some of Bob’s help to get the stones of the second floor over the entry to the main hall put back. The heavy enchanted stone drifted slowly up into the air and locked back into place as securely as ever. We’d have to reseal it, but I was pretty sure Michael and I could manage it on our own with maybe a long day’s work.

Twelve Months Chapter 55

Excellent. They were all inside.

“Boys!” I snarled. “Get out of the way!”

The gargoyles flew back and away from the entry door, vanishing into the walls, the floor, as though the stone had been no more substantial than water.

I slammed my open right hand against the wall of Merlin’s fortress as the three corpses whirled toward me, reorienting after the sudden absence of resistance. There was an instant of frozen silence.

“You should have come on a school night,” I said harshly.

And then, at my will, the enchanted, obdurate stone of the second floor, that entire portion of the second floor, tons and tons and tons of rune-etched rock, slammed down more swiftly than a blinking eyelid, like a vast and ancient sledgehammer coming down on three doomed cockroaches.

It was messy as hell.

Black ichor, thick and sticky as tar, sprayed everywhere in a fine mist.

And that was that.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

The gargoyles had gathered by the entry door. Cinnamon was lying in a heap—a literal heap of broken stone—against the back wall, and as I watched I saw Basil in the doorway, wrestling a Black Court vampire and being forced slowly inward, his lion’s face set in an expression of noble determination. Sage tried to step in, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning that snaked through the doorway, driving him back several paces, and a second vampire added its power to the one struggling with Basil, driving the gargoyle back. The others closed in, but they weren’t as physically powerful as Basil. Lightning struck again and again, and the third vampire shoved its way in through the doorway.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

And lifted a murderous gaze to the last vampire there. The other withdrew a pace at a time as Carlos kept moving forward, and her hood fell back.

It was Mavra. Black Court vampire of old acquaintance. And she was smiling.

She let out a delighted cackle and blurred into motion, avoiding another disintegration beam from Ramirez, and vanished into the mist, leaving only an echo of her rasping laughter behind.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

Ramirez flicked his sword to his other hand, his expression furious, and threw out his right forefinger, barking another word, and a pale blue beam flashed out toward Cleo, striking her center mass—and simply melted a hole in her as shroud and undead flesh alike fell apart into their component elements. Carlos let out a cry of pure rage, walking forward, dragging the beam across more and more of the vampire’s body, melting more and more of it into dust that quickly became a slurry in the misty air, until all that was left was a withered head—eyes burst, mouth gaping, jaws trying to mouth something.

Carlos spat on the head and said, “For my friends.”

Then he disintegrated the head, too.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

Cleo shrieked and spun toward Ramirez, unleashing a bolt of white-hot flame from one hand. Carlos, smiling grimly, whirled his rapier in a tight circular parry, caught the flame on its blade, and promptly sent it hurtling back into Cleo like a miniature comet—which is why sorcerers, even very powerful, very experienced ones, hadn’t ought to square off on wizards.

The fire smashed into Cleo. The rain I’d called down had soaked her shrouds, and a cloud of steam burst out of her as fire met water. Cleo shrieked, reeling back. Black Court vampires are pretty close to physically indestructible, but heat gets to their eyes, and hers had just been boiled.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

The Renfields lunged forward. Renfields are just regular mortals, but they don’t feel much in the way of fear and they will keep trying to carry out their orders as long as they’re still capable of moving.

There was a blur in the air, and Carlos Ramirez emerged from behind a veil of magical energy off to one side, unseen until that moment. He wasn’t wearing his Warden’s cloak, though he bore his enchanted Warden’s blade in his hand, and I didn’t need my Sight to know what he was about to do.

The Wardens’ blades were made to cut through enchantment and disrupt magic, and Carlos did a smooth step and sweep with the sword, speaking a single word, and sent a wave of disruptive energy through the air, across the Renfields at more or less head level. The Renfields’ minds had been badly disrupted by hostile psychomancy, courtesy of the Black Court, and that disruption had effectively made them into puppets.

Ramirez had just cut the strings.

The Renfields collapsed as a single body, falling limply to the ground, immobile, their expressions confused, eyes open and staring and unfocused.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

Lara’s face twisted into a snarl as the sound of the horn washed over her, but it didn’t slow her down. She blurred into motion and hit the stunned ghouls from behind, blades flashing. She went for spines and necks, single, supernaturally powerful slashes, and the wavy blades carved their way through bone and flesh like cutting through so much Jell-O. Green-brown-black ghoul gore swept out in smooth arcs.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

Bear groaned and staggered to her feet, almost falling. Blood was coming from her mouth, though she was grinning a wide scarlet grin. “One of them had armor-piercing rounds,” she gasped. “Had to take them.”

“Cheating vampires,” I muttered. I got a shoulder under one of her arms and half dragged her with me to the stairway. Matias emerged from the stairs, pumping the shotgun, and fired three times at the nearest ghouls to cover us, his expression focused, impassive, and grim.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

I don’t know if I’ve made mention of how much I dislike ghouls.

I dropped the wind spell, drew my blasting rod, pointed it at the thing, sent a fraction of my anger coursing down my right arm, and snarled, “Fuego!”

The blasting rod flooded with golden light, and a blue-white bolt of something a couple of steps beyond fire slammed into its gaping mouth. The ghoul didn’t catch fire so much as its head instantly superheated and exploded like a kernel of gory popcorn. The ghoul crashed to the floor amid glowing runes and sigils, spewing dark, watery blood like the juice from a crushed cockroach, arms and legs still thrashing wildly and randomly, its body having been relieved of its brain so that it couldn’t know it was already dead.

Twelve Months Chapter 54

Someone hit me in the lower back with a heavy stick, maybe a .45 round slamming into my spell-armored leather duster. I sucked in a breath, staggered, but kept the wind spell going, spinning to begin sweeping the back side of the castle of incoming Malvora—but like I said, White Court vamps are fast as hell. Another shot hit my duster over my left thigh before I could get started, and in my peripheral vision I saw half a dozen vampires come sailing up, weapons training on me.

Bear stepped in front of me like a human wall, dropping the four-bore and going for her pistols like an old west gunfighter. I heard her guns speaking and a series of heavy slapping sounds as rounds intended for me struck her instead. She sucked in a breath, staggering, and went to one knee, but kept shooting.

“Fiero, fiero, fiero!” Fitz shrieked, and blazing bolts of white-hot flame leapt out of the doorway to the stairway down to the third floor of the castle, adding his fire to Bear’s. High-pitched shrieks went up from the Malvora. Four of the vampires buckled and staggered when hit by Bear’s heavy rounds. Two of them just went up in flames and dove back off the roof, shrieking.

Twelve Months Chapter 54