“You expected me?” I asked, still standing outside. I gripped my pistol in both hands.
“Not really, but we do have security cameras.”
I looked around and saw a few plastic bubbles. They didn’t look like much, but they were big enough to hide an infrared camera. I knew this could be a trap. The cultists could be in there, all waiting for me. I was armed, but they might be armed as well. Their little tricks wouldn’t work on me, but if there were enough of them, that wouldn’t matter. A significant part of me wanted to retreat, to jump the nearest fence and call the mission a failure.
“Come, come, Mr. Draith.” Gilling laughed. “Do you have so little faith? I will unilaterally declare a truce. Tell me why you’ve come to visit. Don’t be rude and leave me bursting with curiosity.”
Taking in a deep breath, I leaned forward and nudged the door open the rest of the way. So much for my plans to stealthily investigate the place.
I stepped inside and waited for my eyes to adjust to the deep gloom of the interior. Outside there were lights from neighboring houses, stars and streetlamps, but inside there was only a single candle in the middle of the room. Gilling stood near the candle, leaning against what appeared to be a bookshelf. I peered at the shadowy corners of the room, trying to see if any of his accomplices were about.
“Could you put that thing away?” Gilling asked. “You’re making me nervous.”
I flicked my eyes to him, then eyed the surroundings again. I didn’t see anything upsetting, so I slipped the gun into my coat pocket. My hand still held onto the grip, however.
“Slightly better,” Gilling said. “As you can see, I’m alone. The rest aren’t here yet.”
“So you knew I was coming?”
He shook his head. With a faint smile playing over his lips, he pushed open the door that led through into the wine cellar. There, I could see the shimmer of a rip he’d apparently created. Finally, I caught on.
“You saw me on the cameras and stepped over here to meet me?”
“Exactly. I was at my residence.”
“Which is—where?”
He made a dismissive gesture. “My home is at the other end of these security cameras.”
I knew the cameras fed into the web, and his home could be anywhere. I could see the advantage of his system. Using his power to create portals, he could watch places such as the mansion and arrive when he felt like it.
I stared at the shimmering, twisting region of space that hung there in the wine cellar. Such a power. It dwarfed anything I could do. What would it be like, I wondered, to be able to open a path to any other place one wished to go? What would I do if I had such an ability? Travel the world? Empty bank vaults? I wasn’t sure. Clearly, Gilling had bigger ideas. He was trying to use his power to gain even more power.
“I really did come to see you,” I said.
“Why?”
“To ask for your help.” I then briefly explained my encounter with Dr. Meng. I left out any mention of Jenna. Even though I needed them, I had little trust for Gilling and his bizarre crew. I didn’t want anyone to get funny ideas about using Jenna as a lever against me.
Gilling’s eyes lit up with excitement as I spoke. He picked up his burning candle and stepped closer to me as I continued. His eyes reflected the tiny yellow flame, and I could see he was entranced with my story.
“This is simply amazing!” he said when I’d finished. “You are a hero for all rogues…do you know that?”
“Not really. Why?”
“Because you’ve bested an experienced member of the Community in her own domain. That is almost unheard of. You are a rogue among rogues. You will be remembered as our champion. A man to be feared. Unfortunately, they will come for you now—but how many will they have to send to take you down? They can only send their beasts, their simple minions. You’ve shown time and again you are the stronger.”
Gilling spoke with hope in his voice. His every word made me feel the opposite. Each syllable confirmed my deepest fears and hammered another nail in my coffin. How could I fend off an army of goons from the Community?
“I don’t even know most of them. How many are there?”
“How many what?”
“Members of the Community. People with powerful domains. Technomancers.”
“Nine—or eleven, depending on who does the counting,” Gilling said. “You, my good man, have lowered that count by one.”
“She might not be dead.”
“A pity. When taking on a throng, it’s best not to miss with your first strike.”
I straightened up, coming to a decision. I would join this man’s strange, disturbing gang. I would do it to protect Jenna. Perhaps, with enough rogues banded together and my collection of objects, I could defeat those who came for us, or at least enough of them to force them to leave us alone.
“Gilling, do you remember your offer to me? Last time we met?”
“Hmm?”