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Liminality is old. Perhaps it is beginning to
show its age, cracking and crumbling at the seams. We … the Friends
… we just want to restore it to … the way it should be. Its proper
function. Seal the rifts. Put everything back in its
place.”
    “ What is this Penult
place?”
    She sighed deeply. “A higher realm.
Not the highest, but it stays beyond Liminality, beyond even
Tartaros and Tzoah Rotakhat. Far above Abaddon and Lethe and the
Deeps. Penult exist to keep order in the lower realms.”
    “ So Penult is kinda like …
Heaven?”
    She blanched.
    “ Goodness no! Not …
Heaven.” Her eyes descended to the floor tiles. “Heaven is a place
certainly we all aspire to, but it … it is unattainable … to most.
It is a … a mystery. Access is denied those who dwell in the after
lands.” She looked up, eyes widening. “But Penult is almost a
Heaven. It is certainly a place worth striving for. We like to
think of it as like stepping stone.”
    “ Like …
Purgatory?”
    “ No. Nothing like that. We
need no purification or atonement. But all of this is nothing you
should worry about yet. You are young. You have life to live. You
should live it.”
    “ I intend to.”
    “ That is good. That is what
we want to hear. And I want you to assure us that you will stay
away from these so-called Frelsians.”
    “ Don’t worry. I want
nothing to do with them.”
    “ But you have something of
theirs, yes? A small, black card?”
    I felt flushed and defensive for a
second. Was she going to take away my magic credit card?
    “ They tried to recruit me
to … kill … for them. They gave me that card and … well, I’ve been
using it.”
    “ When was last time they
contact you?”
    “ It’s been months,” I said.
“Since before I went to prison.”
    “ Good. Keep it that
way.”
    “ Honestly. I have no
interest in them. They tried to recruit me. I refused. They gave me
money and stuff. But I can’t do it. I can’t kill
people.”
    “ What you say rings true,”
said Belinda. “We find no trail of homicide in your path. No parade
of convenient and tidy expirations. So … keep it up. Stay out of
realms in which you do not belong. Have no contact with Frelsians.
And … we will leave you be. Keep the card, too. Use it. It is
linked to bank account in the Cayman Island. Go ahead. Leech away.
Spend, spend, spend. Deplete their accounts. Although, that would
be difficult for a hundred people with little black cards. Their
wealth is enormous.”
    She smiled broadly. Those teeth. So
many and so perfect.
    “ Okay then. Is that all?
Can I go now?”
    “ First, you should know the
consequence of going against our wish. We Friends of Penult are not
only advisor, we are also enforcer. If you go against our wish, we
can take you down; send you to your destiny before your time. Do
you understand what I am saying?”
    Those hazel eyes, so warm a moment
ago, had turned downright chilly.
    “ Yes. I got you. Can I go
now?”
    She reached out and touched my chest
exactly where Junger’s arrow had punctured it. A searing pain bore
through me and I crumpled to my knees.
    “ Yes, you may go. But
remember. You are marked. You cannot hide from us.”
    I picked myself up off the floor,
gasping.
    “ Would you like Franco to
bring you somewhere?”
    “ No thanks. I can get there
on my own.”
    I rose from the table. What had been a
plain white cocktail napkin was now a spray of bright green gingko
leaves. I don’t even remember transforming them. Belinda noticed
them and gave me the weirdest look. I turned and bolted out the
door, heading for the garden gate. I did not look back.

Chapter 3:
Excursion
     
    I charged out of that fancy compound
having no idea where I was. All I knew was that it was some
residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome. The buildings
here looked pretty upmarket, though there was tons of graffiti. I
kept on walking until I came to an area that was more commercial
with dress shops and delis. At a