“So as I understand it, sorcerers have this Lecti spirit thing that speaks in their mind and tells them crap about aether? I’ve gotta hand it to the Elites and G-Tech. It takes major balls to say ‘Hey, you know those weird people who hear voices? Let’s hire them to protect us.’”

  [She’s quite pretty, isn’t she?]

  I cracked an eyelid. What fresh hell was this?

  Jessie had long since given up on meaningful conversation and disappeared, maybe to walk other halls, maybe to look grumpy somewhere while her pathetic partner tried to flirt. I had stared at the back-and-forth pattern of the springs supporting the mattress on the bunk above me for an hour or so before finally slipping into an uneasy doze. Now the voice was back, except that it sounded different. And was it talking about who I thought it was?

  [The girl, I mean. Excellent—your sight and hearing and hearing are online for me. Finally! Yes, that uniform isn’t the most flattering but I must say, she’s shapely for someone so athletic, wouldn’t you say? It’s a rare thing.]

  The voice sounded suave and refined. Or at least, like someone who thought he was suave and refined. Like a tuxedoed gentleman spy from a movie. I already missed the robotic notifications about health and aether connections. My mystery artifact was now waxing horny about my worst frenemy. It didn’t help that it was echoing some of my own involuntary observations. Jessie had changed a lot since middle school, in all the right ways, and under different circumstances… Ugh. I caught myself before I could finish the thought.

  “Who are you?” I growled.

  “Name’s Bob,” slurred a sleepy voice from the top bunk. “I’m in for public insuffo—atoxa—drinking. You?”

  “My name’s Jett Fulgen. But I was actually talking to the voice inside my head. I promise I’m not the dangerous kind of crazy.”

  “Sure, do whatcha gah do.”

  [If you’d prefer, you may speak to me using your mind. I will only hear if you direct your thoughts toward me.]

  ?Like this??

  [Indeed.]

  ?Fine. Who the hell are you, why are you in my head ogling women, and how do I make it stop??

  [My apologies, Guardian. Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to start out. Let me start by assuring you that you can shut me out of your senses at any time. She is very attractive, though. Reminds me of Ember.]

  ?Who the hell is Ember??

  [Oh, she’s… no one important. Suffice to say, Lord Fulgen, that I am your lecti.]

  A lecti? Oh, crap. This couldn’t be real.

  ?One of those spirit things? How? You’re supposed to have an artifact to get a lecti. You’re supposed to be a sorcerer. I’m just a loser who used to have a runeband. And why are you calling me ‘Lord?’?

  The lecti stammered. [I-it’s only a befitting title for the Guardian of Fire.]

  ?Dude, what is a Fire Guardian??

  [What? Surely you jest. Have you not been training your entire life for this?]

  ?For what? Psychosis??

  [To… to be the new Fire Guardian. The successor of Issa.]

  ?The month??

  [No, the man!]

  ?That old god guy??

  [He’s not a—] The voice gave out an exasperated sigh. [Right. Let me ask you something, my lord. How long has it been since the World Schism?]

  ?Uh… if you mean that big ancient disaster? Almost 5,000 years.?

  The lecti paused for a long moment. [I suppose some things could have been forgotten in that time. I overheard that your name is Jett Fulgen. It is nice to meet you. I am your lecti. I am a thinking aether spirit, bound to your artifact just as you are.]

  ?What artifact??

  [Did—did you not Coat Check the amulet recently?] The lecti sounded genuinely confused. [Perhaps you should recall it.]

  ?How the heck do I ‘recall’ something that—?

  “Oh holy crap!” I yelped. I heard a jingle and felt a familiar weight around my neck. My mom’s locket? I glanced around furtively. No one would assume anything good if they thought I’d smuggled something made of metal into this stupid cell. I slid toward the very corner of the bunk, hopefully out of sight of any cameras, and carefully pulled the chain out of my hoodie.

  It was not my mom’s locket.

  Instead of the chintzy oversized heart-shaped charm I found a glowing oblong ruby in a gold setting. The stone was smooth and roughly the size and shape of a grape. The chain itself, while familiar, also seemed much finer than it had before.

  I also saw that the health and aethervoir bars had reappeared in my vision, as well as what appeared to be multiple buttons, very transparent and drab, as if they were disabled. I returned my attention to the jewel.

  ?What is this? Is this my mom’s locket? Did it transform??

  [Locket? Hmm, let me check something.]

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  There was a pause.

  [Interesting. I do detect some lingering signs of an occluder charm. A powerful one. No wonder I had so much trouble getting in.]

  ?What??

  [Stress-activated, from the looks of it. It looks like someone intended to make the amulet unusable until you were in a situation where you feared for your life. An interesting test.]

  That didn’t sound right. My life had been in jeopardy plenty of times while I was wearing the locket. Although, the lecti had also said it responded to fear. I had felt fearful earlier when Troy pulled the gun. Not for my own safety, but for everyone else in the room. And that was when the voice had started. Was that what had finally pushed me over the edge and started to break down this occluder thing? Then the locket was in even worse shape when I arrived at the precinct. That mad leap onto the train, maybe?

  I hated how much sense this was making. I was still banking on this being some kind of dream.

  ?So, what do you want??

  [What every lecti wants: To help you succeed. A sorcerer is actually three components: You, the artifact, and me. The artifact supplies power, you wield it, and I advise. Here, let me activate your interface.]

  The buttons became more opaque and moved closer to the center of my vision, though it was still easy to see my surroundings. They read Skills, Stats, Classes, and Inventory. Classes was flashing. The whole thing reminded me of one of Wally’s role-playing video games.

  [We’re going to do a quick exercise. Please select the Skills menu you see in front of you. I’ll show you how to conjure a fireball.]

  ?Hold on, what?? I asked, alarmed. ?I didn’t ask for an artifact or a lecti. A fireball? I’m not doing that here!?

  [I don’t expect you to throw it. I just want you to conjure it for a moment, then dismiss it. A simple first step for a budding Fire Guardian.]

  ?I don’t want to be a Fire Guardian!?

  More silence. [Do you really not?]

  ?Look bud, I’ve never met another full artifact sorcerer up close. But from what I hear, most of them are assholes. They’re assassins and terrorists and the like. There are a few sorcerers in the higher ranks of the police force, and there’s some company that’s basically hiring sorcerers as mercenaries to fight against all the bad ones. But in general, ‘sorcerer’ means ‘crazy megalomaniac who can blow shit up with his mind.’ Not really something I want to be associated with.?

  [The Guardians are a force for good, Lord Fulgen. They help the needy and the weak. They were once protectors of all mankind. As of now, my mission is to restore them to their former glory.]

  ?Well, you’ll need someone other than me. I’m really bad at helping people, and I’m surprisingly good at accidentally hurting them. Plus, you know, I’m in jail and all.?

  [In what? I must apologize, my lord, I am not familiar with that word. However, I have a way to alleviate that. One moment.]

  I then heard and felt the strangest thing. A pressure, coming from the ruby on my chest.

  [Uh, could you let me in?]

  ?To what??

  [Your mind. Do not worry, I can only do this with your consent. I can only see what you allow me to see, and only reference material. None of your thoughts or memories. Just allow me to see words and definitions. Five millennia of drift is no small thing.]

  Eh, why not? This was already weird as hell, might as well lean into it. I had no idea how to give the thing permission, but, similar to how I’d accidentally summoned the amulet, thinking about it seemed to do the trick. I swore I could feel something pass into my body from the amulet. I then felt a sensation of movement and, even crazier, a tapping as if someone were climbing stairs. The sensation and sound spiraled up my neck and into my head.

  ?What are you doing? Are you inside me? Like, physically inside me??

  [Yes, and no. Do not fear, I am not hurting anything. The feedback you might be experiencing is not literal, either. Law of Perception.]

  ?Law of what??

  [You know. Sometimes, with aether, things simply work the way people expect.]

  ?I don’t remember ‘expecting’ stairs from my ribcage to my skull.?

  [Well, clearly someone did.]

  I then heard, I swear, the click of a chain being pulled to turn on a lamp inside my skull. Then some shuffling and scooting, and finally the rasp of paper, as if someone were flipping through a book.

  [Just a moment, I am now looking the word up,] said the lecti, his voice reverberating in my head and buzzing in my ears.

  ?I could have freaking explained it myself in the time it’s taking you to do this!?

  [I am aware] the lecti said distractedly, [but I need to learn how to do this myself if I’m going to assist you properly. This process will get faster as I practice. Here we are. ‘Jail.’ Oh. What? Young man, do you mean to tell me you’re incarcerated? Imprisoned?]

  ?Did you not notice that I’m surrounded by bars? Or were you too busy staring at Jessie??

  [It… it doesn’t matter! You were right! You can’t be the Fire Guardian if you’re a criminal!]

  ?Now hold on just a second. I’m a screwup, but I’m not scum.?

  [You’re supposed to be better!]

  ?Better than what?? This thing was starting to piss me off. I already had one harsh critic living inside my head, and he did not need a partner.

  [Better than… Oh, never mind! This simply won’t do! Young man, I’m afraid I must ask you to forsake the amulet. I shall simply have to find someone else to be the new Fire Guardian.]

  ?So now I’m not good enough? Fine. I’m all for getting rid of you. How do I do this forsaking thing??

  [Hold on! Wait just a moment! I need to think this through. Damn. If you forsake the amulet now, who knows how long it will be before another candidate arrives?]

  ?Better make up your mind. In a few hours they’re going to check on me. They’ll find this amulet and force me to give it up anyway, and I bet I’ll get new charges against me just for having it.?

  [How about this? I will temporarily allow you to act as the Fire Guardian.]

  ?Oh, I’m honored.?

  [Hear me out. Let me walk you through how the system works. If you can impress on law enforcement that you are no ordinary sorcerer, perhaps they will listen. Then the amulet can be kept safe until a better candidate arrives. Consider it a service to society. A small atonement for your crimes.]

  ?So you pushed me to be the Fire Guardian when I didn’t want it, and now you’re telling me I’m not ‘allowed’? Oh, it’s fine for me to perform like a damned monkey while you shop for your ‘real’ Guardian? Screw you.?

  I heard what might have been heavy breathing, which was a little creepy since it was happening inside my head, rattling my skull. [I cannot impress on you how important this is, Mr. Fulgen. The fate of the world might very well hang in the balance. If no one will listen to you, if they try to take the amulet away and lock it up somewhere, then, well… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll show you how to use the power of the Fire Guardian to escape.]

  ?Hold up. Really??

  [Yes, if it comes to it we will burn our way out. I can teach you how to melt the very bars of this place. I don’t propose that we hurt or kill the law officers in our way, but with the natural mobility of the Fire Guardian, plus a few well-timed skills, we should be able to rebuff them and escape while causing minimal harm. That will buy us the time we need to find another candidate or make a better case.]

  ?So let me get this straight. Three minutes ago you were appalled that I was a criminal, and now you’re going to teach me how to break out of jail??

  [Yes, thank you,] the lecti said testily. [That is an apt summary.]

  I considered. This whole thing was nuts, from concept on up. It put all the crazy crap I’d pulled earlier today to shame. It was stupid, reckless, had a pathetic risk/reward ratio, and would inevitably leave me far worse off than if I’d just walked away.

  I freaking loved it.

  ?All right, I’m in. Show me how to be a Fire Guardian.?