I heard a soft purring sound and saw the gerbil, soft and cuddly. I reached to touch it then felt the searing pain of the scorpion. Why had I been deceived again? What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I get rid of it? I saw now that the scorpion was connected to me by a sort of obscene umbilical cord, as if it were a part of me.

He stung me repeatedly, and I wanted to kill him, yet I couldn’t do it without killing myself.

The scorpion appeared to be growing larger by the moment. And then, to my horror, he opened a fold of flesh in my rib cage and tucked himself into the cavity of my chest.

I froze, feeling the monster crawling inside me, returning to where he must have come from, working his poison throughout my system.

I ran out through the tinted-glass doors and down city blocks of gnawing emptiness. Finally I came to Shad and collapsed in a heap, unable to meet his eyes.

“I know what you’re thinking, old man.” I wheezed, breathless. “But how can you blame me? It isn’t my fault—it wells up within me.”

“Walk away from it. The King has invited you to feast at a better table, not on rotten food laced with worms, but on rich food that satisfies. Come back with me, walk farther on the red road. I will lead you to what will fill the emptiness in your chest and give you strength to say yes to what you long for and no to what cannot satisfy.”

“Don’t let the old man fool you!”

I looked around. Where did the voice come from?

“Nick,” Shad pleaded, “you must face the chasm.”

“Chasm?” I asked dumbly. “You spoke of it before. What is it?”

“Nick!”

It was Joshua. He stepped forward, smiling, and raised a hand to silence Shad. “Come, Nick,” he said softly. “There’s much more you must see.”

“But this chasm, what—?”

“There is no chasm,” Joshua said. “The man is sincere perhaps, but confused. Even if there were a chasm, surely it would be the last place you’d want to go!”

I nodded my agreement. Shad closed his eyes and whispered something, I couldn’t hear what. Before I knew it, the three of us were walking in a lush hotel hallway. Joshua hesitated, looking as if he’d intended for us to go elsewhere. Shad gripped my arm.

Gilded elevator doors opened across the hall. Out stepped a well-dressed man, accompanied by a woman with the face of a man’s dreams. They walked side by side down the hallway, laughing lightly in obvious anticipation.

Then I knew what was about to happen and felt my stomach turn.

Shad tightened his grip on my arm. “Watch,” he said, “not with your desire but with your mind.”