Page 71 of Fool Me Twice

Abruptly, there’s a drone of feedback. Roma almost jumps out of her seat, whipping around. At the next table over, there are a handful of college students plugging instruments into portable amplifiers, clearly getting ready to provide some entertainment.

Ez huffs indignantly. “All right. That’s it,” she says, and before Roma can react, she sweeps up their counterspells, snaps open a rift, and waves Roma through. “Grab our food, will you? We’re going somewhere quieter.”

“Sure,” Roma says, securing her bibimbap and Ez’s currywurst before walking forward. “But it’s a Friday night, so I doubt many public places will be‍?—‍”

Roma’s feet land on a hardwood floor. Her eyes widen in shock.

This isn’t an offbeat café or pizzeria like she expected. No, this is aliving room‍—two comfortable couches off to one side, a flat-screen television in the far corner, and a cozy kitchen with a small table just ahead.

This is a residential building. This is ahouse.This is‍?—

“Is‍—‍?” Roma swallows hard. “Is this, um, your home?”

Ez scoffs, looking away. “Of course not. It’s just, uh. Just my second-favorite safe house.”

A strange tendril of disappointment seeps through Roma. It’s quickly coupled with a spark of butterflies at the fact that Ez looks almost as disappointed as Roma feels. “Ah.”

“Yep.” Clearing her throat, Ez leads the way into the kitchen. “Anyway, it’s quieter here. And we need to talk about the Jeong base, lackey. What do you have against the Jeong base?”

“I…” Roma follows her to the kitchen table, gingerly sitting down across from her. “I don’t have anythingagainstit, per se. It’s just not as intuitive to me as Blakeman. And Blakeman is shorter, so there’s less room for error.”

“Hm. Good point,” Ez says, and she spreads their two copies of the Blakeman reversal between them. “And, above all, I think it’s pretty telling that we both instinctively chose the Blakeman base for this particular counterspell‍—and that we only have a two-word difference between our drafts.” She taps one of the examples. “In this line, I use the word ‘close,’ but you use the word ‘shutter.’”

“‘Close’ is more accurate,” Roma agrees, “but ‘shutter’ maintains the number of syllables. Can we find a word that’s as precise as ‘close,’ just with two syllables instead of one?”

Ez considers. “How about ‘shut down’? That’s hard to misinterpret.”

Roma’s eyebrows shoot up. “That’s perfect,” she says, and she makes a note on the counterspell. “How about this section? You have ‘energy,’ and I have ‘power.’ We’ll want two syllables for this one, too.”

Ez skims over the line. “‘Magic’?”

Briefly, Roma remembers the eloquent Johannes base from yesterday. “I think you missed your calling as a poet, Ez.”

“Meh. Spellcasting is more fun, anyway,” Ez says, and her eyes flicker up to meet Roma’s. “Well, uh. I guess that’s it. This is our counterspell.”

Roma’s stomach lurches. That’s it? Less than two days of work, and they already have what they need? “It… feels too easy.”

“That’s what I said yesterday.”

“I know, but‍—‍” Roma lets out her breath in a hiss. “You said you’ve tapped into the Deep before, right?”

“Only a few times,” Ez says. “Three or four, tops.”

“And you didn’t experience any adverse effects?”

“The biggest adverse effect from pissing off the Deep is ‘death,’” Ez says, “and, as you can see, I’ve been blessedly unaffected by that.” Her eyes narrow. “But you’ve mentioned that Sanctum spellcasters have a high mortality rate with the Deep. How bad are we talking?”

Roma winces. “One hundred percent mortality.”

Ez almost chokes.“One hundred percent?Are you saying thatnoSanctum spellcaster has ever come out of a brush with the Deep alive?”

“Not one,” Roma confirms quietly. “Honestly, the only reason I felt confident with our checking spell is because it specifically analyzed the Deepwithouttouching it. Do you think it might be more suited to demon magic than human magic?”

Ez shakes her head. “Human spellcasters have successfully accessed the Deep before. I wouldn’t say it’s common, but we get a human who manages it without dying every few years.” Her eyes turn wary. “It might genuinely be a skill issue. No offense to your entire way of life and all that, but Sanctum hunters tend to have an overconfident streak. They might’ve been lower-level spellcasters whothoughtthey could mess with the Deep, but didn’t actually have the requisite abilities.”

Vividly, Roma remembers thinking she could handle a pre-WMSA spell, despite years of being warned not to meddle with them. “You’re not wrong,” she admits softly.

“But I do have confidence inyourspellcasting, specifically,” Ez continues. “You’re objectively an advanced spellcaster, and you’re definitely the best human spellcaster in Redwater‍—maybe even the best in the state. I think we should be able to tap into the Deep without a fuss.”

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