—EINSAM GESCHICHTENERZÄHLER

Konig stood at the entrance to his personal chambers, examining the thickly carpeted floor, which sparkled with mirror dust. Within, the two Doppels stood shoulder to shoulder, facing him. Only Acceptance's wounds differentiated him from the other.

"You lie," said Konig, the threat unspoken.

Acceptance, head bowed low, s.h.i.+vered.

"No," said Trepidation. "We do not. We . . . I wouldn't dare."

"What exactly did you see in the mirror?" Konig demanded.

"They were escaping," said Trepidation, licking his lips nervously. "They would have replaced us."

Acceptance merely made a small whimpering sound and kept his face lowered.

Konig watched the two carefully. Was this a lie? Had something else happened? Nothing but dust remained of the mirror's reflective surface. Could this have been true, could his Mirrorist tendencies have suddenly grown in power? He knew he couldn't trust Acceptance, but surely Trepidation would be too terrified to lie. In the end, he just couldn't chance yet more delusions running amok.

"You." Konig pointed at Trepidation. "Have all the mirrors in the church destroyed. All of them. Cover anything reflective. I want no s.h.i.+ning bra.s.s, no bright knives. Curtain all windows." Konig paced into the room, ignoring the gritty crunch of broken gla.s.s beneath his shoes. He stopped before Acceptance. "You," he said to the top of the Doppel's bald head. "Explain to me how my reflections became so powerful, while my Doppels, a much older delusion, seem to have dwindled. Seems unlikely, does it not?"

Acceptance looked up to meet Konig's eyes with his own single bloodshot eye. The Doppel looked beaten and dejected beyond his physical injuries. His clothes hung badly, wrinkled. He smelled like he hadn't bathed in days.

"We are broken," Acceptance said. "When you turned Abandonment and Trepidation against me, you weakened us all. Then, when Abandonment faded away, we were further diminished. We are but a shadow of what we could have been." A little anger crept into the Doppel's voice with the last sentence.

Konig scowled and turned his back contemptuously on the Doppel. "You made your play for power. You failed."

"There was division among your reflections," Acceptance whispered just loud enough to be heard.

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Stopping, with his back still turned to the Doppel, Konig asked, "And?"

"They had a message."

"And?"

"Asena and her Tiergeist have the boy."

"Alive?"

"Yes," answered Acceptance. "Asena means to bring the boy home."

"She disobeyed me?"

"As Abandonment would have said, everyone betrays us in the end."

"Me," corrected Konig, distracted. "Everyone betrays me in the end." He stood, lost in thought. "If she brings him here, it must be for a reason. Either she fears the boy is not ready to Ascend, or she fears . . ."

He left the thought unfinished. He couldn't say it aloud. If Morgen was sufficiently corrupted by his contact with the outside world, all Konig had worked for was ash. His delusions were growing in number and power. Morgen had to Ascend before Konig lost control and was consumed.

Konig's remaining Doppels gathered behind him. He felt their gaze like a weight on his shoulders. Killing Morgen had always been the plan, but he'd intended the boy to die willingly. If Morgen loved or wors.h.i.+ped Konig enough, if he'd believed everything about serving the people of Selbstha.s.s he'd been told, he'd willingly sacrifice himself. A naïve G.o.d, desperate to please, had been Konig's goal. Why build a new G.o.d to wors.h.i.+p when Konig could build a G.o.d who'd wors.h.i.+p him? Love and wors.h.i.+p, what differentiated the two? He felt like he should know, but saw no distinction, and as everyone else acted as if there was a difference, it worried him.

It doesn't matter.

If the boy had been corrupted, the plan would have to change. He'd still have to die, but afterward he'd serve as a slave and not as a . . . what? Friend?

You always meant to enslave the G.o.d.

True, but it would be different if the boy was willing.

Really? How so?

Konig forced himself to relax, unclenching fists he hadn't noticed making. I will kill the boy the moment he returns. He had little choice; hiding from his reflections was at best a temporary measure. Konig remembered the feel of Meineigener's knife sliding into Aufschlag's chest, the gasp of air escaping a torn lung, the slow glazing of his friend's eyes. He swallowed doubt and revulsion.

Can I do it again?

The G.o.d must serve.

He's just a boy.

Konig straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. He must not show weakness before his Doppels. "We move forward. When Asena returns with the boy we will see to his Ascension." He left the room before his Doppels could answer.

Acceptance watched Konig leave, noticing the exaggerated set of the shoulders.

"We will see to his Ascension," Konig had said. Not I. A small slip, but an important one. He s.h.i.+es from what he must do. He needs me.

The man's will wore thin. Little by little the failure of Konig's plans were breaking him. Soon I will step forward and replace him.

"A good idea?" asked Trepidation.

"A gamble. He'll wait for Asena to return. He trusts her far more than he trusts us," he muttered vehemently.

"Not entirely unwise," said Trepidation with what almost sounded like humor.

Acceptance studied the Doppel for a moment. "True. By the time he realizes she isn't returning, he will have waited too long. We will make our move."

"We?" Trepidation asked with obvious doubt.

"We. I am no fool—I cannot do this without you."

"And we shall be equals, once we have taken Konig?"

"Don't be foolish."

Trepidation bowed slightly, accepting the admonition without comment. "Konig commanded me to destroy all mirrors."

"And?" asked Acceptance, mirroring Konig's earlier tone.

Trepidation gestured to where Acceptance's mirror remained tucked within his robes. "All mirrors."

"I think I shall keep this one," said Acceptance with a tight smile.

Trepidation looked doubtful. "Seeking to use Konig's reflections is unwise. They cannot be trusted."

"We too are Konig—or at least aspects of him. Who is to say we cannot develop our own Mirrorist talents?"

Acceptance saw dawning comprehension on Trepidation's face. How he hated that untouched, unbroken countenance. Someday I will have my revenge. Someday soon.

"Your reflections, they told you something." Trepidation, the least socially skilled of the Doppels, made no attempt at hiding his curiosity. "What did you see?"

Acceptance grinned evilly, though he hid the broken teeth and ruined lips behind a s.h.i.+elding hand, his insecurity spoiling the intended effect. "All in good time, my cowardly co-conspirator. All in good time."