Carl nods enthusiastically. “Carl wants to be helpful! Carl doesn’t need corporate structure. Carl has friendship!”
Mister Poofypants the Third meows. It sounds like middle management, but also somehow like agreement.
“We need to complete the ceremony,” I say. “We have to be the anchor. We have to choose what we become before the choice is made for us.”
“Four hours,” Stenrik says quietly. “Are you ready?”
I look at him—at the frost patterns on his hands, at the way he’s watching me like I might disappear. Literally. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Then we hold on with everything we have.”
“Everything,” I agree.
The Chronicle dims further, but I don’t notice.
“THE STONE IS CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR TRANSLUCENCY!” the stone finally booms.
“One problem at a time,” I mutter.
Four hours until midnight. Four hours to prove we’re strong enough to be an anchor, to grip tight and not let go no matter what the storm throws at us.
Looking at Stenrik, at the unwavering resolve in his eyes, I feel certain. We know what we need to do. Hold on. Don’t let go. Be strong enough to endure.
The Chronicle said so.
Even if it went quiet right after we read it.
Even if my hand is see-through.
Even if I’m on day three of Keith’s four-day transformation timeline.
We’ll be fine.
We have to be.
STENRIK
The power fails again. I know this because Rianne has been obsessively checking the time every few minutes since we discovered her partial translucency.
“Less than three hours until midnight,” she mutters, then the lights die.
“The partial bond is destabilizing the electrical system,” I explain, though we have covered this already.
“How?”
“Magic and modern infrastructure rarely coexist peacefully.”
Keith glides over with several shadow converts in tow. They’re all wearing name tags now, though how they procured them remains a mystery. Carl follows, holding a sign that says “KEITH’S ASSISTANT MANAGER.”
We all stare at Carl’s sign.
“Assistant manager?” Rianne asks.
“Carl has been promoted,” Carl says proudly. “Carl shows leadership potential.”
“In what organization?”
“The Shadow Integration Initiative,” Keith explains. “Keith is CEO.”
