Erin stayed at the back of the group as they returned to the docks, content to be a passive bystander. She held tightly onto Mari's hand. It was hard to believe, but it would be her final island with the crew. After this, she would head to December and probably never see them again.

Doubt roiled inside her.

Erin knew that the right thing to do was to follow her orders. She had people who depended on her and she had been gone for too long. She found a smile crossing her face under her hood as a tear fell down

They had only been together for a short time, but she couldn't deny that they made her day a little brighter. Whether it was Sayed accidentally chopping off Alex's arm and crying while Alex didn't seem to care, or Wen's dry humor tied with Jean's biting reproaches. Even Mari, whom she largely just chaperoned around, made her smile.

They were idiots, plain and simple, but they were her idiots. The only time she ever felt like she had a family like the crew was when the Revolution took her in—when Leninski had found her running from her burning home and into a new world. She had fled her old world as the people of that world burned it down around her, only to find refuge in another that welcomed her.

She rested between two worlds again when it came to returning to the People's Revolution. This time her home wasn't burning down around her, though Artur's funeral on Grim Aegis had been like a part of her world falling apart. Would she have a place if she could find her way back?

She already knew she would have to go. But she held out hope that she could meet the crew again when the operation in December finished. That was assuming she survived. Death was always a possibility.

She didn't know much about the operation beyond a deadline to get there, but she knew that it would be big. She wasn't the only one being called to the Core. From what she had gathered from her orders and conversations with agents on the way in, everyone was being called in for the operation. Hundreds of revolutionaries would arrive in December, and when the time was right, they would put a thorn so deep into the Scion's eye that they would rethink what the citizens of the Empyrean were capable of. How was a mystery, but Erin couldn't think of anything else that would bring so many revolutionaries to one place?

It was everything she had spent her life working toward. However, if that was the case, how did she feel regret at leaving the crew behind? She didn't have the answers, but resolved to try to convince Alex to join her one more time. If he did, the rest of the crew would follow, and maybe they could all stay together.

It was a vain hope, but she didn't want to let go of Mari's hand.

"There you are, brothers!" Sayed raised his hand.

He jogged forward at the front of the group toward the tower, where Alex and Wen waited together.

Neither of them looked happy. Erin frowned, but stayed at her same pace. It wasn't like they had much better news. Outside of the bookseller, there was little information they had gathered about the town. The remaining mystery might be enough to make Alex think they should stay and check things out.

"How did you fare?" Jean asked as they caught up to Sayed.

"Bad." Alex shook his head as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, no," Sayed gasped.

"They wouldn't sign off on the papers." Wen sighed, her arms crossed as she stood away from the tower. "They made me wait for three hours before even telling me they needed the Count's signature on three forms before they could issue the documents."

"Then they went to lunch." Alex added. "And didn't come back for three more hours."

"Don't remind me," Wen's voice went icy cold. "I would have killed them right there if it would fix anything."

"Ah, bureaucracy." Jean shook his head, a wisp of a smile crossing his face.

"Yeah, well, that bureaucracy is ruining our chances of getting out of November."

"It's the ship that's the problem," Erin said. "If you all purchased tickets on a vessel, you could sail through under their permits. You could even bribe them to hold you under a different name in their logs."

"We're not leaving the ship behind," Alex said flatly. "There has to be a reason it's designed the way it is, and I don't think we could scrape together the money to get another one."

"We could take one," Sayed said, rubbing his beard. "We have done that before."

"And it got us chased across the Fringes," Alex said. "I think we'd pick up worse if we did it in the Core."

Erin sighed, but Alex was right. They couldn't steal a ship, and they couldn't abandon the Nighthawk. While she had connections, they wouldn't be able to get them documents for crossing through different islands easily for a new ship. It was much easier to use established ships.

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"You could steal documents," Erin said, the thought bubbling up unexpectedly. "Though that would probably need you to go to the Capitol."

"I—" Alex stopped, one finger raised. "It might work."

"We would have to modify the documents," Jean said. "Heavily, if we wanted them to match the Nighthawk."

"Or find a ship similar enough to it they wouldn't notice." Wen dropped her arms, clenching her fists tightly.

"Thieves again, but this time of documents." Sayed smiled. "I think it is different enough to make a new chapter."

"Alright," Alex said. "So we get out of here and head to the Capitol tonight, before dark hits. Whatever's going on in this town can be someone else's problem for now."

Erin didn't like how that sounded, but she couldn't blame Alex. They weren't here to dig into one town's secrets. They had a goal, and that was the Core, just like Erin had her own goal. That it gave her more time with the crew wasn't a bad thing either. Maybe she wanted to be a little more selfish for a change.

"Oh, but that's a horrible idea. Isn't it, sisters?"

The voice tickled in Erin's right ear. She turned, but saw no one nearby. However, an echoing shrill laugh, like a haughty crow, echoed through the square. A chill ran down Erin's spine as another, older voice joined with the first.

"Yes, dear sister. These poor fools don't know that we have already prepared for them. Word will reach the Capitol before they arrive if they don't listen to us. Their attempts to steal documents, when they could procure them by other means, will be in vain."

Erin watched as Sayed's hand reached for his blade, Jean's hands released from inside his robes, Wen's reached for her revolver, and Alex raised one hand. They were ready for a fight, but Erin just wanted to know where the voices were coming from. Her eyes checked the surrounding square, but the streets were largely empty. There was no place to hide.

"No, dear sisters, understand they have yet to pay the price of experience. They have their youth in spades still. They still have much to learn about the ways of the world."

The third voice allowed Erin to pinpoint their location. Inside the dark entrance of the tower, three figures stood in the shadows, away from the light. They were roughly humanoid, feminine figures, though she couldn't make out their clothing in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Alex asked, seeing them in the same moment.

Instantly, the rest of the crew turned to face them, each person's own weapon, whether flesh and bone or steel, ready. Erin was the only one not preparing for a fight. She held Mari's hand tight and was ready to take the automaton to cover. Whatever happened in the next few moments, it was more important to keep Mari safe.

"Our names, will come to you soon," the furthest left said. "From morning."

"To day," said the center.

"To night," said the rightmost, her two long teeth glinting in the dark. "You will know them tonight."

Srrck.

"I swear," Wen whispered as she slid one foot back. "I was right. This entire place is like a horror movie."

"I know, right?" Alex smiled at her.

It was one of the jokes they shared that Erin never understood. They would say words that in some way made sense, but then use extra ones that changed the meaning. The women were certainly horrors, but she didn't know what a movie was.

"Oh, I don't think they are afraid of us, sisters," the left one whispered. "Perhaps we should show them the error of their ways."

"No, no," the furthest right said. "We have our orders, sisters."

"And I will complete them," the center one said.

"So, we're not fighting?" Alex asked, though he didn't lower his hand.

"It wouldn't be a fight, child," the right one said. "More like a massacre. You are but babes in your power. You haven't paid the cost to be a true threat."

Bzzt.

Alex didn't say anything in response, but blue sparks ran over his fist. In a flash of light, jagged pieces of metal appeared across his hand, forming a metal fist with sharp edges. It wasn't what he normally did, which was conjure larger arms over his normal arms. It was a faster technique as well. She wondered when he had learned to do it.

"Oh, he's out for blood, sisters," the left one said.

"Reminds me of Count Gavril in the bedroom." The far right one touched her cheeks with both hands, and Erin assumed she was blushing. "Ah, when he's angry, he puts a real fire in us."

"Demons," Sayed whispered. "I did not see it before, but I do now. These are wicked succubi, conjured to drag us down with their wiles. Speak, demon! Tell us what you want and begone!"

"Oh, another fiery one. They will be most fun at the party tonight."

"Quiet, sister, don't spoil the fun!"

"A party?" Erin's voice stuttered out.

"Yes," the three said in unison. "Your entire crew is invited to dine with Count Gavril this evening. It will be a most important part, filled with the most important lords and ladies of the land. Arrive at the castle and attend, and you will be granted the passage you seek. Fail, and you will find no safe harbor in November. Every member of your crew will be hunted until there is nowhere left to run. When you collapse, crying, only then will you find your peace in death."

Their shadows swirled, three becoming one before they ascended the tower's shadows like dark smoke. Erin released a breath she hadn't known she had been holding throughout the speech. It had come so suddenly, and they had left so quickly, she didn't know what to think.

Bzzt.

"Very 'Brides of Dracula,'" Alex sighed, releasing the metal on his fist in a flash of blue.

"They were demons." Sayed took his hand from the hilt of his sword. "Of that I am sure."

"Depending on the story, that isn't too far from the truth," Wen said, her hand still on her revolver.

"Whatever they are, the question we face is what to do," Jean said, his hands disappearing back into his sleeves. "The offer and the threat are very clear. We go to this party, and we obtain the documents we need to move forward. If we do not, we face the consequences."

"It's obviously a trap," Erin said. "We'd be fools to go."

"True." Alex nodded. "But we'd be fools not to either. The possibility of getting it is worth it, and if it keeps us off the radar, we'll be able to move deeper into the Core."

"I hate to admit it, but our biggest advantage is people don't know much about us," Wen said. "Anything to keep us out of sight is better than having our presence blared around."

"It is a party." Sayed smiled. "A party with demons. If things go wrong, that will truly be a great fight."

Erin's stomach churned as Jean nodded along to their words. She had a feeling that however the next few minutes went; they were going to the party.

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