10 – The Invitation

“It is a trap.”

“Of course it is a trap. How could it not be a trap?”

“Nobody just invites all their enemies to one place for a chat. I guarantee the food is poisoned, the spikes in the pitfalls are sharpened, and the ceiling will collapse to turn all of us into Hunter sandwiches.”

Erika glanced over, frowning at Rick before shaking her head and looking over the rest of the group gathered in Varn’s. All The Hunters were on deck today, including the more ancillary members—The Fixer, Daniel, Delilah, and even Bethany and Carter. Erika was fairly certain the latter two were here just to keep an eye on them, given that she doubted Leah or Leslie would want children walking into an obvious trap.

Turning her attention back to the letter, Erika drummed her fingers over the slightly rough parchment. The message was short and simple, consisting of an address, a time and date, and a brief explanation of what to expect—a discussion of the future and how everyone fit into The Monk’s view. No words were wasted on trivial greetings, platitudes, or even specific callouts to Erika. The entire letter read like a cordial invitation to a weekend work function.

“I somehow doubt that there will be pits and pendulums,” she said slowly. “They wouldn’t invite everyone in Chicago if it was just a simple little trap.”

The collective supernatural scene just had too many varied powers. Whether it was Erika breaking down the walls, The Emperor blasting away barriers, The Hermit teleporting people around, or The Castle knowing what was coming and bringing countermeasures, someone could solve anything.

“Perhaps a distraction?” Sofia said, nursing a cup of coffee. Between the bags under her eyes and her hunched posture, it looked like she had been up for most of the night. “They invite everyone, play it completely straight, but their cult does something while everyone is having a party.”

“It could be genuine,” Anna said with a heavy nod toward Erika. “They gave you the immortality speech, and it obviously didn’t take, so now they’re going to give the offer to everyone in order to dismantle the little coalition we formed with the other factions.”

“Oh… I didn’t even think of that,” Erika grumbled to herself, wondering how many people in the city would jump at the offer. “I figured they’d invite us in, give a sermon, and then we’d go to leave only to find some suspicious chains that only I can break blocking the exit.”

Daniel hummed, pausing his note taking on his tablet. “Could be all of the above. Turn people, kill people who reject their offer, set up plots out in the city, and free more parts of their god all in one evening.”

“That’s only if we go,” Rick said. “Which we won’t. Because it is a trap.”

“Even if we don’t go, other people will,” Leslie said, carefully folding his hands on the table. “I think it is important to at least hear what is said, lest we be left in the dark while everyone else prepares their blades to stab us in the back.”

Erika snapped her eyes to Leslie in the wake of his uncharacteristically cynical comment. Everyone was mostly certain that everyone was who they said they were, but she still had to stop and stare for just a moment. She wasn’t the only one.

“Cults are persuasive to those even mildly open to hearing what they have to say,” Leslie explained, eyes noting each person staring at him. “I doubt The Emperor would be willing to play second fiddle to someone else, and The Hermit is older than everyone in this room combined ten times over, but what of everyone else? Wasn’t The Doctor seeking some kind of cure to death? What do we really know about The Director? They’ve been helping us out since the start of this, but The Warrior might be willing to break relations in exchange for a sufficiently powerful magical item. A good cult leader will know their audience and know what might speak to them. And you never know what they have that even The Emperor might be interested in.”

Erika watched as he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, then quickly stole a glance at the rest of the room, gauging reactions. Anna didn’t look particularly surprised, nodding in a knowing manner, though both Sofia and Rick had perplexed expressions. It wasn’t that he was wrong—he wasn’t—it was the way he said it.

Like he had some experience with cults. Something that Anna knew about but which Rick didn’t, which itself was almost more surprising.

“Wait,” Bethany said, glancing back and forth among the group. “So we have to go walk into the trap?”

“We?” Leslie said, raising an eyebrow.

“Not all of us,” Anna said. “If there is something going on in the city, some of us should be on watch.”

“Sounds like The Eclipse’s job,” Sofia muttered. “Or The Fixer’s job.”

Everyone paused, glancing to the side. Leah stood, half leaning against Rick’s work desk, with lips pressed together in a thin, firm line. With the way her brow furrowed and eyes squinted, Erika was fairly certain it was Leah there, not The Fixer. At least for the moment.

Erika watched for a moment as her parents argued or discussed or whatever was going on in their heads. Once again, she found herself trying to shunt some feelings off into the aether about the situation her parents found themselves in. The Fixer seemed like they had been the present one as of late, but given that Erika really only interacted with them during times of trouble, maybe that was to be expected. She would have to ask Carter how they acted when on their own.

Another flicker of thought crossed the back of her mind. It wasn’t the first time she had thought it, but it was something she was giving more consideration to—wouldn’t it be best for everyone if they were broken apart? The Fixer could go off and find the life of some criminal to steal, and Leah could get her independence back. She had dismissed it any time she thought about it in the past, fearing that she would hurt them or worse.

With all her experience now, with her having utilized her power in ways she had never considered in the past, with two gods broken at her feet… maybe she could give it a little more consideration.

“Mom?” Carter said, making them jolt.

They glanced up, eyes darting about the room. Knowing them, and with a little practice watching Delilah, Erika spotted the exact moment they swapped from Leah to The Fixer. It was just a slight flattening of the eyebrows, a faint constriction of the pupils, as they switched from surprised to calculating.

“Pardon? You’ve caught me in a moment of thought.”

“You want to watch the city on the twenty-ninth?” Erika asked. “Or you want to go spy on the meeting?” She paused as she realized something. “Wait… didn’t you say The Monk killed your… uh… past self?”

“That is true—”

“The Fixer is watching the city,” Erika announced, turning back to the table with a finality. “I’ll go to the meeting.”

“Now Erika, hold on a moment. That is not a wise decision.”

“Between the two of us, I’m the only one who has survived an encounter with The Monk.”

“Barely. And this is almost certainly a trap aimed at you.”

“So what?” Erika thumped her knuckles together, pressing just enough to pop them. “If they trick me into breaking another chain, oh well. I’m two for two on breaking these aspects. I say let them.”

“That’s not…” The Fixer ran their fingers through Leah’s shaggy brown hair. “We should use the opportunity as our distraction and hunt down the snowfield aspect, eliminating it before it can be more of a threat.”

Erika’s reactive rebuttal died on her lips as her brain managed to overtake her mouth and gave the idea some consideration. It wasn’t a bad idea, certainly. The Monk would be in a known place, though he could surely leave if he wanted. Maybe the rest of the city would pin him down. They would have free rein to wander around, searching for the god. Erika’s eyes shifted to Delilah; Nya’s guidance had been a bit cryptic and they ended up figuring out the Carrion █████ on their own, but it had still pointed them in roughly the right direction.

If Nya could do the same here, they wouldn’t even be wandering aimlessly.

“Dad said we should know what they have to say,” Bethany said, arms crossed. “You don’t think so?”

“The Church got an invitation,” The Fixer said, eyes pivoting to Leslie. “I wasn’t paying full attention, but you were worried people might accept The Monk’s offer?”

“Correct.”

“There is nothing The Analyst wants. She is not human and has no long-term desires or immediate needs.”

“Except information,” Erika cut in. “She definitely wants to know everything.”

“With a limited scope,” The Fixer admitted. “Her primary drive is to catalog all activity within the Chicago area. She has a vast array of information gathering means at her disposal and is willing to trade information for what she cannot gather on her own. She will not be swayed by promises of immortality or power, thus we can trust her report of the event.”

Anna got a strange look on her face, swiveling in her chair to face The Fixer. “Can’t The Monk just trade information then? Given that we know The Analyst is after information about The Mummy,” she started with a nod toward Erika, “it seems like The Monk has a lot to offer, and parting with information sounds a whole lot simpler than immortality.”

The Fixer blinked, taken aback, then quickly shook their head. “I’m sorry, my fault for not being more clear. What I’m trying to say is that The Monk can offer her nothing that would buy allegiance. I have no doubt that she’ll try to learn as much from him as possible, but anything she learns is then information that we can learn.”

“If we have something to trade, which if she learns everything, we won’t.”

“It is impossible to know everything,” The Fixer said with a small, wan smile, like some teacher explaining the ways of the world to a confused kindergartner. “Her mission is one of futility.”

“I meant regarding The Monk,” Anna snapped back, obviously irritated with their tone.

“We do have Delilah,” Erika said, earning herself a nasty glare from the quiet girl for making everyone’s heads turn toward her.

Shoulders shrunken in, Delilah glanced off to the side before straightening a little. Her black eyes almost looked happy to hear whatever she was hearing. “If The Analyst is after information related to Chicago, Nya isn’t sure how much value she can offer. We don’t know much about the exact operations of The Mummy’s activities around here.”

“You could probably rattle off a bunch of monsters The Mummy has locked away; if more break out into Chicago, The Analyst will want to know.”

“Maybe…”

Erika was about to ask about The Banker and how he fit into all the scheming going on when her phone rang. It wasn’t much of a surprise—she was expecting calls from several people. What did come as a surprise was the way Sofia perked up by the third note.

“Stalker’s Tango? Really?”

“Seemed fitting,” Erika said as she fished the phone from her pocket. “Surprised you know it.”

“I’m surprised you know it. Isn’t it a bit too on the nose?”

Erika waved her off, putting the phone to her ear. “Hey.”

“You guys in the middle of something?” The Stalker asked, no greeting.

Erika had a sneaking suspicion… “Are you right outside the door?”

“Yes.”

“Then just come in already,” Erika said, rolling her eyes.

“I was being polite,” The Stalker said, hanging up the moment she finished speaking. An instant later, a light knock rattled Varn’s inner office door. “It’s me,” she called out, as if there were any doubt.

Well, there was some doubt. Knowing that doppelgangers were running around had Erika giving everyone a second glance. At the same time, letting their paranoia get the better of them was going to tear everyone apart. So, when The Stalker barged into the room, gave Erika a little nibble on the ear, then slumped into a chair with an exhausted sigh, Erika didn’t look too hard.

If a second Stalker showed up, she would start worrying.

“The Warrior and The Strategist decided to go,” she said with a sigh. “The Strategist analyzed it from every angle and said the likelihood of a trap is less than sixteen percent. He also thinks this is some grand intellectual challenge, a battle of wits laid out just for him, based on how the letter was delivered. I think he’s an idiot.”

“How was it delivered?” Rick asked.

“Someone broke into his car and left it on his steering wheel.”

Rick blinked. “That’s an intellectual challenge?”

“In his stupid broken mind? Yes.” The Stalker sighed again. “How did you guys get your letter?”

“The mail slot,” Rick said with a shrug. “Someone shoved it in and ran off. I caught them on camera, but they looked fairly average.”

“One of the masked cultists,” Erika said, adding a quick afterthought with a shrug, “Probably. They weren’t wearing a mask at the time.”

While The Stalker snorted, Erika had to wonder if the letter delivery was intentional in its methods. Between herself and The Fixer, by far the two individuals in Chicago with a vested interest in The Mummy, there wasn’t much need to draw them in. The Strategist needed a different approach, someone who would just pique his interest enough. From a brief phone call with The Adjustment, Erika knew that The Eclipse received their letter through their official contact delivery box, with all the proper forms filled for it to reach The Emperor’s eyes in a timely manner. In return, they were sending negotiators in the form of The Hanged Man and The Hierophant, mostly in effort to prevent more incidents like the maggots and the birds.

The Castle had not gotten back to Erika yet, but she wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it had been delivered by someone who had been captured as a test subject, willingly or otherwise.

Now that she was thinking about the way they had been delivered, she started rethinking her assumption. The haphazard way their letter had been delivered felt almost insincere in comparison. With the snowfield dangling as bait, could it be that The Monk actually wanted her to ditch this party?

“Maybe skipping isn’t the right move?” Erika muttered to herself, interrupting Anna and The Stalker’s attempt at figuring out exactly what The Strategist’s power was.

“You’re skipping?” The Stalker asked, smiling a little. “Me too. I’ve been told to maintain Puppet interests during their absence. Which basically means fuck up The Eclipse if they try raiding The Warrior’s workshop.”

“Well… It depends entirely on whether or not The Warrior can get me a few more bullets,” Erika said, looking back to the group at large. “Not much point in venturing through the portal if we can’t disable the god.”

All eyes turned back toward The Stalker, including Erika’s.

“What? Don’t look at me like I know her schedule.”

Erika nodded, already figuring The Stalker wouldn’t know. “I’ll give her a call,” she said, standing. “You guys figure out what we’re going to do if we don’t have bullets.”

She could have called right there in the room. Nobody would have minded, and delaying a contingency plan wouldn’t have been a problem. Erika stepped out of the office and onto the arcade floor anyway, closing the door behind her.

The Warrior picked up on the third ring. “Agent! Just the woman I was hoping to speak with.”

“Oh?”

“You ever read Lord of the Rings?”

“I have seen the movies?”

“How about the Narnia series? One Thousand and One Nights?”

“Uh…”

“Ever played a Sonic game?”

“Is this going somewhere?”

“Of course it is! I have my eye on a magical ring, and you’re going to help me get it.”

Erika pressed her lips into a thin line, not exactly enthused. At the same time, she knew that The Warrior’s relationship was more or less transactional, not something she could shut down and still expect a fresh weapons delivery. “I… don’t suppose it’s an easy job like last time? Just break a box and I’m done?”

“If you’ll recall,” The Warrior said, tone light with humor, “we were in hell when you broke that box, hounded by birds, chased through eldritch landscapes, and then ventured into the crypt of a maggot god immediately after. So, yes, it should be a similarly easy job.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Erika said, sighing. She glanced back over her shoulder, making sure the door to the office was shut. She could hear voices on the other side, but nothing distinct. Dropping her volume a few notches, Erika asked, “When was the last time you saw The Stalker?”

“Half hour ago? Ish. We had a little meeting about The Monk’s invitation. I presume she’s told you that The Strategist and I are going?”

Erika nodded to herself, a little relieved that their stories matched up. “She did. Any way we can get a few more black bullets before next weekend?”

“If I get this ring, definitely.”

“By that, do you mean that you can’t help me until you get the ring, or you won’t help me until you get the ring?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Fine. You got me. Let me know—”

“That laundromat will work. Tomorrow,” The Warrior interrupted. “Early. Like you better go to bed now if you want to be well rested levels of early. This invitation has put us on a clock. I’m not going to this meeting without this ring.”

“It’s powerful?”

“Just you wait and see…”