052 – Read the Signs

Day 7

I stood in front of the plank that led from the boat to what used to be Manhattan. The boat hadn’t been originally anchored here, but they hauled it all the way over so it would be as close to a subway station as possible. With Anthony’s ability to understand how those spaces connected, New York grew significantly smaller. At least for those who understood how to follow his directions. Supposedly they were rather esoteric.

The plan had been that Jamie would show me how to use the shortest path to get to the club, where the others were busy ‘working’ on the place. I wanted to thank them and then check out the hyenas. My own babies were making me look bad compared to Helene’s.

The moment I stepped on the plank and left the sanctified space of the boat behind, I knew it wouldn’t work.

“Nope,” I said.

“What’s the problem?” Jamie asked.

I took a step back.

“I’m screwed up. The idea of going down into those tunnels is seriously fucking with me. And I can’t go to the hyenas if I don’t know if I’m being watched.”

“That’s okay, Eve. You can take some more time off. We’ll make sure the hyenas are fine.”

“I don’t think a day of bed rest will do me any good. It won’t fix what I experienced down there. I—” I pushed past Jamie. “Just give me a moment, okay?”

I unclenched my hands. My claws had left bloody marks in my palms. I ignored the questioning glances of the others and the friendly greeting of the dogs and went back into the room I had woken up in.

“How dumb am I if I make my subclass choice to deal with my paranoia?”

“All choices serve the one purpose: survival. You do what you have to do. Just tell me you aren’t going for the dragon one?”

Only when Gabriel’s voice steadied me did I understand how upset I still was.

“What? Wyrmling Ascendant, an entire class dedicated to a single shape that isn’t even useful right now, is not the right choice?”

“It was in your final considerations, wasn’t it?”

“Apex Seeker.”

“Which also was among your final choices. Can hardly be ‘dumb,’ can it?”

“Are you being snarky with me, Gabriel?”

“I just wish you wouldn’t frame very real concerns as personal failures. What you went through was horrible. Seeking a way to keep going despite the wounds you still carry is not weakness but strength.”

“You just say that because you hate casters and because the other choice is pure fire power.”

“I don’t, and you know it. Apex Seeker is a good choice.”

“Yes, I know. I just fear that even when I make a good choice for a bad reason, it makes it bad.”

“Protecting your pack? Protecting your friends from the warlords’ spying eyes? Those are stronger reasons than you could list for any other class.”

“And you already know you’ll regret it anyway,” Lucy said. “Personally I’m a fan, though.”

“Oh? Please do elaborate.”

“Casters are nerds, you don’t want to be a lesser Ash, there already isn’t a lot to the guy. Look at your outfit and tell me a raging beast class fits that? No? Thought so. The dragon thing is a one-trick pony. Your trick is going fast. So yes, pick the one that makes you aware of more things. You are good at puzzling things out—the more you see and notice the better you can deploy your true strength.”

“Which is?”

“Really? Fishing for compliments, are we? Fine. Your mind, Eve.”

“I agree with the devil,” Gabriel said.

“That’s twice today. One of you is starting to slack.”

I accepted the Apex Seeker. And everything got a lot more detailed.

[Apex Seeker – Subclass

Predator’s Perception – Passive

Heightened Senses gains +5 effective levels and gains accelerated progression.

Heightened Senses can contest supernatural stealth, camouflage, and obfuscation.

–

Read the Signs – Passive

You passively notice environmental disturbances that indicate recent movement, habitation, concealment, or predation.

This includes tracks, scent traces, displaced debris, unnatural silence, feeding sites, ambush positions, and escape routes.

–

Seek the Unseen – Spell

Cost: 5 Mana

Cooldown: 30 minutes

Effect: Define a broad category of target. For a short duration, gain instinctive guidance toward the nearest valid match within range. The more specific the category, the shorter the range and the more precise the guidance. The broader the category, the longer the range, and the vaguer the guidance.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

–

Uncanny Quarry – Passive

When you have identified or tracked a target, you gain increased awareness of its likely movement, routes, and hiding behavior.]

I could hear the music playing on the other end of the boat. At a glance I identified countless traces of Gabriel, Lucy, and Jamie in the room. I knew how both of my Guides just vanished into thin air and Jamie’s exact position and the steps he took there.

All of that was expected. I stared at the chair, which first Jamie and then Gabriel had occupied. And how it carried the slightest traces of Lucy. Left there because they had been on someone who had occupied that chair.

“Hey, you two. While I was asleep. Did you two happen to manifest around here? In close proximity?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said.

“Uncharacteristically succinct.”

“Indeed,” she said.

Lucy had told me how they could have weaponized their own fear against me. If that fear hadn’t been real, they couldn’t have lied about it.

All the while I was fighting for my survival, they had to watch and wait. Unable to influence whether their existence would continue.

I would have needed a hug, too.

I bounced off the bed.

“Yeah, fair enough. No further questions.”

Once more I wordlessly walked past the others. Jamie was leaning against the railing, facing the city. I sat down next to him, my legs dangling over the edge. I scanned the coastline and the buildings beyond.

He looked down at me and smiled.

“Picked your class?”

“Yup.”

“What’s it do?”