A Secret Man of Blood

Chapter Seventeen

It's cold in the mountains, the Sun's stallions galloping across the snow without impression as Anya, Indigo, Sig and Squad hike their way down and into an unending valley, dark vignettes of wood scribbled across its surface.

"I miss food," Sig muses.

"You ate ten minutes ago!" Anya reminds him.

"I miss those times," Sig says, reminiscing as he gazes off into the distance. "I'd even love to be in one of those hipster restaurants, eating a burger served in a pizza box brought in on a wheelbarrow rolled by three waiters, all of them named Tad. The waitress is named Tad too."

"...That's a very specific fantasy," Squad says.

"Yeah...you probably shouldn't look too deeply into that," Sig replies.

Indigo moves the conversation on. "Let's just hope it's a bizarre psychological flaw, rather than a weird sexual thing."

"Oh, it's sexual," Sig tells him, holding his gaze with the intensity of a bomb-disposal expert.

"Well," Anya sighs. "You've taken another huge stride in knocking down the barriers between everyday life and sexual depravity."

"Thanks," Sig smiles. "Did I ever tell you about the time I went out with a frost troll? She was covered in fur! It was difficult to tell where the pubes ended and the face began. I thought I was going down on her for an hour, but it turns out we were kissing!"

Squad grins. "If I recall correctly, you told me you had sex with her twice."

"Only because I couldn't chew through the restraints before she got back!" Sig vehemently protests. "Anyway," he says, changing the subject swiftly. "What do we think Scipio's looking for up here in Jona? Its main exports are demons and snow."

"Well, we've tracked him straight into The Zone," Anya says.

Sig shrugs his shoulders, so Indigo explains.

"The Zone is a barrier, or transition point, between what we theoretical mages call The Static Void, which having been part of the Expanding Void (what scientists refer to as the universe) now exists in isolation from both realities—"

Sig nods along. "I don't know what that means, but it's forcing me to believe it. Anyway, nothing can harm me today, because I'm wearing my lucky hat."

"Are you a big hat man?" Squad asks.

"Massive hat man. I love hats and all things in hats."

"Do you have a lot of hats?" Squad enquires.

Sig waves a hand as if the answer is beyond doubt, confidently answering.

"Countless."

"How many is that?"

"...Four," Sig responds, less confident. "But I lost three to a hat-eating demon."

Anya laughs. "One isn't really countless, is it?"

"Depends how high you can count," Sig answers.

"Besides," Anya pursues the point. "I've never heard you mention hats before, so I'm not buying this newfound obsession."

"Yeah, but Sig's very changeable," Squad explains. "Two weeks ago, he protested outside of House of Keys, screaming 'Save the pigeons!' Last week I saw him beat one to death for drinking from his puddle."

The Kindred, which usually sticks to Indigo's mind, speak aloud. "This place is a massive source of black matter, a substance channelled by mages as magical energy, but the effects of time and space are looser here. When you enter The Zone, I may not be able to contact you reliably. You may experience the future...or the past."