Chapter 3: (CH2)THE INVISIBLE PATRONS
The Voidfang hadn’t even finished dissolving when Luis saw... someone.
He wasn’t sure how he noticed at first—just a shimmer in the corner of his eye, like heat off asphalt. Some guy leaning against the alley wall, relaxed, like he had front-row tickets to a show no one else could see. But when Luis turned his head?
The man was suddenly right in front of him, grinning like a gambler who already knew he was losing, but bet the house anyway.
"Surprise!" Zyx chirped, flicking Luis square on the forehead. "I’m your divine plus-one!"
Luis staggered back a step. "You—wait. Other people can’t see you?"
Zyx rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out. "Obviously not. You think normies get backstage passes to the apocalypse?"
Luis started to reply, but across the street, a woman in a half-shredded business suit was yelling at—nothing.
"Who are you?! Stop—stop laughing at me!" she screamed. Her voice cracked—then her hands caught fire.
Real fire.