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“Curious.” Desmond eyed him again. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen. Why?”

“Ooh, older than I thought. How many people have you killed?”

“I have not been keeping track, honestly. A couple dozen, perhaps?”

“Not bad,” said Desmond. “Maybe you haven’t realized yet, but your power grows as you consume souls.”

“Oh! That would explain why I feel stronger lately.”

“Yeah, aberrations are great that way. But you should be careful not to kill too many people too quickly, or you’ll end up drawing the attention of the Vanguard.”

“What is that?”

“Our enemies. They know about aberrations. They fear you guys, and rightly so. If they realize you’re here, they won’t hesitate to send one of their strongest people to kill you.”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Oh, it can be, but only when the time is right. Aberrations are all about momentum. You can grow in power much more quickly than we can, but you have to kill a lot of people while still staying hidden. Otherwise, you’ll be stomped into oblivion before you ever get a chance to become a genuine threat to the enemy.”

“Hmm, I see. I suppose killing the Queen of Atreya would be doing exactly that, then.”

Desmond laughed. “You’re here to kill the Queen?”

“Yes.”

“No kidding! We came to kill the Queen, too!”

“Really? Oh! Are you the ones responsible for all that destruction over there?!”

“Yep! Sadly, though, she managed to escape. Some other servants got in our way.”

“Servants?”

“People with reapers. We’re a bit outnumbered, actually. Why don’t you join us in hunting her down? If you stick with us, we’ll keep you hidden from the Vanguard. Or protected, at least.”

“That sounds wonderful!”

“Excellent! I really like your snake by the way.”

“Thank you! They were upset when I took him, but the hat was simply not enough of a prize for me.”

“Entirely understandable.”

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“I wanted to thank you for saving Her Highness’s life,” said Lynnette. “As well as mine.”