And then, at last, Jaedia turned. Maya’s throat went thick at the sight of her face, framed by the fur-lined hood, calm as ever, wearing a slight smile. She came forward, stepping lightly, not reaching for the haken at her side.

“You seem to be in difficulty,” she said to Nicomidi in her lilting, musical accent.

“We cannot fail,” Nicomidi grated. “Not here. Not when we’re so close.”

“I agree.” Jaedia caught Maya’s eye and winked. Maya fought a desperate grin. She’s on our side, this has all been some plan, we found her in time—

“Then do something,” the Kyriliarch shouted.

Jaedia stepped up beside Nicomidi, laid one gentle hand against his cheek, and turned him inside out.

He barely had time to scream. His skin split wide open, bones cracking audibly, as his body twisted in ways it was never meant to. His viscera dropped away, making a bloody puddle on the rocks, and his muscles wove and knotted themselves into new patterns. Limbs, with broken ribs protruding from them like spikes. Plaguespawn.

“I’m afraid his company has grown-grown quite tiresome lately,” Jaedia said. Her voice was pleasant, but with a strange tic, as a word repeated in a different tone as though someone had stitched two parts of a sentence together. Maya’s mind went back to a basement under Bastion, a lifetime ago. The realization must have showed on her face, because Jaedia smiled and pulled down her hood. Something squirmed at the back of her neck, a black spider with its legs wrapped around her throat and its fangs buried in her flesh. “I told you we’d meet-meet again, little sha’deia.”

“Maya?” Tanax said, staring at the pulsing, bloody thing that had been his master. “What the fuck is going on?”

“That’s not Jaedia,” Maya said, retreating a step.

“To be more precise, it is Jaedia’s body-body.” Jaedia stepped forward, her head moving with a sudden jerk as she looked from one of them to the other. “Jaedia’s mind, Jaedia’s mem-memories. Jaedia is just no longer in charge.”

“Who are you?” Maya whispered.

“I am nothing. A copy. An instrument.” Jaedia put her hand on the fleshy mess at her feet and stroked it lovingly. “A better question is, who are you?”

“If you have Jaedia’s memories, you know that,” Maya said.

“Ah, but do you?” Jaedia smiled wider. “You-you have no idea of the trouble you’ve caused, little sha’deia, or the lengths I’ve had to go to keep-keep you alive when you insist on sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. And you do like to interfere, don’t you? In Bastion you forced me to ruin a perfectly good body. In Deepfire you kept the Core Analytica out of my hands. You can’t leave-leave well enough alone.”

“What is a sha’deia?” Tanax said. “Why would you want to keep her alive?”