Page 24 of Fool Me Twice

Maybe she could even manufacture that scenario. Ez is clearly suspicious of how often the mega-rifts open around both herself and Roma, so Roma could pitch the idea of opening one late at night and far away from her‍—with the understanding that the Chain’s Public Safety Department would probably call Ez to close it, anyway.

That gap between opening the mega-rift and Ez showing up might be just enough time for a neophyte demon to accidentally wander through.

And, despite Ez’smanyfailings, she’s not stupid. She’d understand Roma’s play and follow up with the Chain afterward, just like Roma would follow up in the Sanctum’s prison.

And then they’d both have the answers they’ve been looking for.

Roma takes a deep breath. Lets it out slowly. Strides into the communal showers, drops her go bag by the door, and grabs a washcloth and towel, hoping the hot water can wash away the scent of treason before anyone else notices it.

It’s just past eleven p.m. when Ez gets a call from Maggie Khan, and that’s how sheknowsthis is going to be a bad night. Cursing, she shoves herself to her feet and swipes into her phone, already braced to open a rift. “Khan? What’s going on?”

Maggie’s voice sounds strained. “Another mega-rift just opened in midtown, right on the corner of East and Mayfair. Public Safety is currently dealing with a violent summoner on the far side of the lake, so is there any chance you can handle it?”

Ez bites back a grimace. “How long has this rift been open?”

“At least half an hour.”

Ez swears under her breath. Much as she hates that these stupid mega-rifts seem to follow her every waking move outside of her house, there’s one important upside to the inconvenience: without a spellcaster actively summoning a neophyte to this dimension, Ez and her hunter du jour‍—who, if she’s being honest, is mostly just Roma‍—can usually close the rift before any demons accidentally wander through.

If it’s already been open for thirty minutes, though, then there’s a good chance that there’s a panicked neophyte demon crashing around Redwater as they speak. Maybe even two or three. “On it,” Ez says curtly, and she disconnects the call, snaps open a rift, and strides through.

When her feet land on the sidewalk, it’s to see the purple-gold of a mega-rift still sparking cheerfully in the middle of Mayfair. Roma’s silhouette is as familiar as ever right next to it, and if Ez isn’t mistaken, she’s currently trying to use her own spin on Ez’s disconnecting spell to close it.

“What are you doing?” Ez demands, jogging up to meet her.

For a split second, Roma looks almost relieved. Just as quickly, though, her expression shuts down. “Trying to do your job for you,” she snaps, turning back to the mega-rift with a scowl. “You ready?”

As an answer, Ez shifts into her spellcasting stance, feet shoulder-width apart and hands raised. “One, two,three‍—in the name of Nostringvadha‍?—‍”

“Ages upon ages‍?—‍”

It’s almost eerie how in sync they’ve gotten within a few short weeks of these rifts becoming the bane of their existence. And Ez is under no illusions‍—she knows that Roma would be more than happy to attack Ez in a real fight‍—but lately, she’s started thinking of Roma less as her enemy and more as‍?—

Well, “friend” is definitely out. “Ally” is closer, but it doesn’t quite capture all the nuances.

Ez would describe it more like a situationship, honestly. A very bizarre situationship that mainly consists of them sniping at each other, working together with brutally efficient magic for a common cause, and then parting ways until the next time.

When they finish their dual incantations, the mega-rift immediately collapses in on itself and vanishes‍—even faster than usual, Ez thinks with a note of pride. Unfortunately, the “parting ways until the next time” component of their normal routine is quickly derailed when Roma whirls around to face Ez, a grim set to her jaw. “A demon got through. We need to catch it before it goes on a rampage.”

Ez groans aloud. Without the distraction of the mega-rift, she can see flashing lights and hear muffled yelling from a few blocks away‍—Redwater’s human police force, clearly trying and failing to contain the neophyte.“Seriously?Haven’t your good little hunters tracked it down by now?”

Roma’s eyes flash. “Oh, that’s rich. Why aren’t yourPublic Safetydemons doing their job to, oh, I don’t know, preserve public safety?”

“They’re otherwise occupied with a rogue summoner,” Ez bites out. “You know, anactualthreat.”

An unreadable expression flickers over Roma’s face. “Really? Our, uh, hunters went after that one, too.”

“Let’s hope they don’t kill each other,” Ez says flatly, and at that moment, she hears the distant sound of roaring‍—and the even more distant sound of panicked shouting‍—from thedirection of the lights. Cursing, she turns around and starts running. “Come on!”

Roma stays hot on her heels as they sprint down the road, letting the police lights guide them. They bolt past closed shops and open bars, cut down a dim alleyway, emerge onto the next street over‍?—

Ez skids to a stop, blinking with surprise. “Huh. That’s, um. New. That’s‍?—‍”

Roma finishes the thought. “That’s a giant cat,” she says decisively, taking a wary step forward. “Like, a six-foot-tall housecat.”

She’s not wrong. Some of the details are skewed, of course‍—Ez has never seen a green cat with bright orange stripes, black fangs, and three tails‍—but it looks more like a gargantuan kitten than an apex predator.

But that doesn’t make sense. Usually, a demon’s true form on Earth is based on their summoner’s worst nightmares, but what human’s worst nightmare is acat?What human‍?—‍?

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