Page 44 of Fool Me Twice

But she and Roma have started to figure out the pattern. Usually, there’ll be cycles of between twelve and fifteen mega-rifts opening before a short rest, typically only a few minutes. That’ll repeat from five to ten times before a longer break starts, giving them a lull of at least an hour‍—sometimes two, if they’re lucky.

And, since they’re out here closing mega-rifts for roughly ten hours a day, they’ve started timing their meals accordingly.Right now, Ez is chowing down on a decadent slice of tortilla española, and Roma is nibbling on her samosas with a side of fries.

JJ loves samosas, too. Ez wonders if Roma was the one who introduced him to them.

Determinedly, she pushes the thought from her mind. She has more important things to worry about right now‍—partly brainstorming ideas about how to end the mega-rift epidemic with her spellcasting buddy, and partly just checking Roma’s spellcasting knowledge in general.

Ez doesn’t know why it’s so important to her to discover how much Roma knows about magic, but for some reason, it makes excitement buzz through her veins every time they discuss it. “Then tell me, Gutierrez,” Ez says, leaning forward. “Walk me through your rationale for why this can’t be a duplication or replication spell.”

Roma licks the grease off her fingers before answering. “First of all, Idoknow the difference. There are two parts to every spell, the casting and the activation. Most people think they’re the same thing, because there’s usually only a split-second delay between them, but the casting is thecauseof the spell and the activation is theeffect.”

“You say that like you have a mnemonic device for them,” Ez says. “Let me guess‍—‘casting’ and ‘cause’ both begin with the letter ‘c,’ and ‘activation’ and ‘effect’ both begin with a vowel?”

Roma picks up another fry and cocks her hand back like she’s taking her aim. “Don’t test me, Laguerre.”

Ez snorts, unconcerned. “All right. Go on.”

Roma eyes her suspiciously before lowering her fry-throwing hand. “The casting is what most people think of as performing the spell‍—the incantation, stance, and gestures‍—while the activation is the actual flow of magic that creates the intendedeffect. Duplication spells are a repetition of the casting, and replication spells are a repetition of the activation.”

“Do you have a mnemonic device for those, too?”

This time, Roma doesn’t give advance warning before chucking a fry at Ez. Ez catches it in midair and pops it into her mouth. “Do you have something against mnemonic devices?”

“Only when they’re stupid,” Ez says, and she nods at Roma. “Continue.”

Roma rolls her eyes. “So a duplication spell would repeat the casting over and over again. It would effectively create a ‘shadow’ of the original casting, including any introduced errors, and would generally lead to the activation occurring again each time. And, importantly, it doesn’t move around at all‍—it’s localized in the spot where the casting first occurred. That doesn’t fit with our mega-rifts.”

“So why not a replication spell?” Ez challenges. “They only repeat the activation portion‍—in this case, the mega-rift opening. They’re more like a facsimile of the spell than the spell itself, and they’re not localized to any particular location.”

Roma doesn’t look convinced. “It’s more likely than a duplication spell, but it still wouldn’t constantly change locations‍—not without another spell attached, at least. And‍—‍” She leans forward, her eyes brightening in a way that lets Ez know she’s about to get particularly nerdy. “And both duplication and replication spells involve perpetual motion. They just keep casting or activating over and over again, not waiting for a counterspell or reversal. That doesn’t match with the weird rhythm of the mega-rifts.” She gestures at her samosas as evidence. “Like right now. We literally predicted that this would be our lunch break based on that pattern. That wouldn’t happen with a duplication or replication spell.”

“Hm…” Ez chews thoughtfully on her tortilla. “You have a point.”

“You already know all this. Why are you even asking me?”

Roma sounds more curious than annoyed. Ez shrugs one shoulder. “Much as I’m loath to admit it, you have a sophisticated understanding of spellcasting for a human. I’m hoping that discussing different magic concepts might lead us to a solution, because we know all the rules‍—and how to break them.”

Roma looks faintly pleased. “Huh,” she says, taking another bite of her samosa. “Thanks. I guess.”

“Don’t get too cocky.”

“I won’t,” Roma says, and she straightens in her seat. “All right. Extrapolating off that, let’s talk about magic bases.”

Ez squints back at her. “Magic bases?”

“The different structural formulas used to create spells.”

“I’m aware of what a magic baseis,Gutierrez. What do they have to do with the mega-rifts?”

“I’m starting to wonder if our counterspells would work better if they shared the same magic base as the rift-opening spell,” Roma says. “After all, just because our joint blocking and disconnecting spellscanclose the mega-rifts doesn’t mean they’re the best option.”

Ez wrinkles her nose. “It’s… possible, but highly unlikely. After all, the mega-riftsareclosing every time‍—they just happen to open again right afterward. That implies less of an issue with the counterspells and more of an issue with the rift-opening spell itself.”

Plus, it’s not like either of them knows the magic base of the rift-opening spell. If they had access to that incantation, it would make their lives a whole lot easier.

“Hm.” Roma takes a sip of water, considering Ez. “So whydoyou use your usual magic base, anyway? A friend of mine recently went down a demon-magic rabbit hole, and there are apparently plenty of bases that reference multiple demon gods.Why do you use the one that only invokes Nostringvadha? Doesn’t that limit your spellcasting?”

“First of all,” Ez says, “because the other gods are dicks.”

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