Tick backed against the wall, feeling the edge of the bench cut into the backs of his knees. Though Mistress Jane had obviously been as surprised by Chu’s appearance as Tick, she’d recovered, sitting calmly and expressionless as she stared at their visitor.

Chu walked forward, his forehead wrinkled and eyes narrowed in anger, his pace brisk. He stopped ten feet in front of them, his eyes never leaving Jane.

“What is this?” he asked, scrunching up his face like he’d just spotted a rotting body. “I’m trying to find the one person in the Realities worthy enough to help me in the greatest scientific achievement of all time—and you two sit here chitchatting like old friends. All that’s missing are the cups of tea.”

“What did you expect us to do?” Jane asked, her voice calm. “There’s not much here to keep us entertained. I guess we could’ve wrestled or played freeze tag.” She nudged Tick with an elbow.

Chu folded his hands behind his back, smoothing the anger out of his face. “Mistress Jane, I don’t care what powers you may think you have, but you’ll be dead in an instant if I so wish it. Do you understand?”

Tick expected her to get defensive, but she merely nodded.

“I’m very disappointed to see both of you sitting here,” Chu continued. “I’d expected at least one of you to have the vicious instinct of survival within you, the willingness to win my contest no matter the cost. Only one can win. Only one will win. One, or none—I can always scratch the two of you and start all over.”

Tick couldn’t take his eyes off Chu. It was unsettling how he looked exactly like his teacher back in Deer Park. And to see this mean, nasty personality stuffed inside the image of one of his favorite people in the world was very disturbing.

“Isn’t it an even greater accomplishment that we both made it?” Jane asked. “That such bitter enemies could reconcile enough to work together for a common cause?”

“All I see is cowardice,” Chu replied, wrinkling up his nose as if such a notion disgusted him more than anything else. “If you don’t have the strength, will, or ability to kill this young man, then I certainly don’t want you by my side.” He shifted his gaze to Tick. “And you—don’t think you’ve accomplished anything great. Much tougher tests lie ahead.”

Chu paused, looking back and forth between Tick and Jane. “Still . . . I need an apprentice, and my patience has run out. Like I said, one or none. You’ll both come with me and settle the matter.”

Tick finally found the voice that had been locked in a trap of panic inside him. “What do you mean? What are you going to do to us?”