Storyteller's Universe // See Through
Unstoppable Forces



“I believe--”

A joint is passed to me and I allow myself to take a long drag from it then pass it further to whoever’s next. Much to Asher’s annoyance I let the smoke sit in my lungs for as long as I can manage before letting it out. Then I finish with a coughing fit — on purpose of course, just to drag the whole spectacle out.

“--I believe I made myself clear. Pray tell why are you still begging me?”

“If you want access to our records, taking the offer is what you’d want, no?”

“No.”

I reach for my drink, someone uses this opportunity to wrap an arm around my shoulder. I don’t mind.

“Just three months and your sorry ass can go back to whatever this is.”

He gestures around the club.

“You can get me access to PERSA records and I will help you. Or you can get lost. No other options.”

“Okay, no work, but also no records. We want to negotiate a different price for your help.”

“If you can’t accept my terms, then you’re not desperate enough. Find someone else.”

“Alright, that’s enough. You, fuck off, we’re doing business.”

Asher shoos away my spontaneous companion. They unwrap their arms from around me and walk away — as a nearby neon light illuminates them, I can see they were a deer. Goddamn those were some cute antlers, fuck you Asher. He sits down where the deer sat, very close to me, no doubt an attempt at making me feel uncomfortable.

“You work for us for a bit, you get to rummage through our databases however much you want, you do a couple jobs for us and we’re all even-steven and we’re out of your hair for good. Say, has the freelance work been any good recently?”

“No, I’ve had some assholes sniff around and it scared a few clients off, know anything about it?”

“I’m just saying that if a business has potential to cause problems with keeping up the Veil, keeping a close eye on it is reasonable.”

“I couldn’t care less. Gave me some time off to pursue my own little projects. Speaking of, new trade offer — my help for your records.”

“If you want to copy our homework, you better pull your own weight for once in your life.”

“What if two immovable objects meet?”

Asher sighs. As he is about to get up and leave, I grab him by the wrist. My hand turns red and clawed, time to use the worse side of my legacy.

“Your superiors promise you promotions and a successful career, yet every time your goals are within reach the same higher-ups kick the career ladder from under you and keep you at the very bottom. Nobody else succeeded in convincing me, so if it’s you who gets me to work off my debt, you will finally mean something to them. You need me to accept the offer.”

I squeeze his wrist a bit tighter, he can’t help but stare into my eyes.

“Get me the fucking records and PERSA will finally recognize your efforts.”

I let go, my hand returning to normal. The fox shakes his head and reaches for something in his pocket.

“Bastard.”

He gets up and pulls out a corked vial, then snaps it in half. The exact moment dust inside flows out of the vial, I feel a punch to the gut, air leaving my lungs — I can’t breathe.

“You are a bastard.”

I bend in half and lay down on the sofa, desperately trying to draw air into my lungs.

“And your hubris will keep you forever chasing shadows.”

The fox turns on his heel and walks away. Can’t say I didn’t deserve the thaumic punch, but I refuse to learn from it, even if it takes me a few minutes to return my breathing to normal.

I can’t find Asher anywhere in the club, not that I expected him to stay here. I look for the deer boy instead.