After bargaining with some carnivorous river folk for their leftovers, I brought “Boss” something to eat. Along the way, I realized I identified him in error. If he was a ghoul, he would have had neither a fleshy beating heart for me to grasp, nor a soul to tremble in fear. But he still set off my Boneburner instinct and I had to fight down the urge to purge him from the city.
I almost jumped as Weaver Ravencloaked, but remembered at the last second that Rat and the others think I’m the djinn that had hijacked my body earlier. I hooded and veiled myself again, using black jewelry to hold the cloths in place. A black mask and black gloves hanging off the hip completed the costume. The only thing missing was the chain of opals that the djinn wore as his single adornment. Opals might call too much attention. For now.
I jumped and The City took me straight to the Rat Nest. I arrived in a wink much to the delight of Rat and the horror of the others. I handed him the bag of putrefying body parts. “Here. You feed Boss.”
As Rat scooted over to an eagerly flailing Boss, I watched them both with my dead eye. Their spirits show signs of repeated feedings, but were mostly intact. Their dream bodies were greated malformed and missing more than just bones or organs. Parasites crawled between skin and spirit. Very familiar parasites.
Without apology, I reached into Rat’s dream body. He jerked in sudden spasms as I pulled one of the thread-thin worms out of his spine. I understood why my Boneburner instinct was to set the Rat Nest and all the beggars on fire. These were the same kind of worms that Roger had infested me with as a by-product of bringing his pieces together in Koshari’s building. When the worms were removed from me (courtesy of a sadistic Ravenwoman), Roger’s influence and tracking of me ended and our rivalry began.
Rat looked at the squirming noodle in my hand and drew back in repulsion. I incinerated the worm to ash without comment. “You said you had been killed before and came back, yes? How many times before [Roger] did this to you?”
“Twice! And both times I woke up in the alley a couple days later like nothing ever happened!”
“And after?”
Rat’s face twisted in anger. “Once. When he took my legs. When I woke up, I had these and it felt like something was eating from the inside out. Am I filled with those worm things?”
“Has anything brought you to death since?”
Rat scooted away from me. “No. I shoulda died a few more times, but it never comes. I’m just punched into smush or cut up to pieces and once whatever was trying to kill me gives up, my pieces crawl back together. It don’t feel good, Wink. I’d rather die, even if it meant the last death.” He looks at the fading ash on my fingers. “Is that what that fucker did to me?”
I did not answer him, but interrupted Boss’ desperate feeding. Holding his mouth closed again, I reached into the portion of his dream body that had been altered. I tried not to gag as I realized the bulk of his mass was not fat, but parasitic worms. Where Rat was just a carrier and could not infect others, Boss was a means of transmission. His bite would have infested me even if all he did was scratch me. Feeling around I realized Boss’ constitution was strong enough to start regenerating his dream body. But as fast as his body attempted to heal itself, the worms ate away the healthy flesh. This was the source of Boss’ hunger.
I released Boss and quickly moved out of his strike range. If Boss can critically infect an able-bodied person, and that person gets far enough away from Boss, the worm infestation will turn that person into an infection vector. But the City can deal with infections like this. Even if the factions get involved.
Wait.
Rat can’t die. And Boss can’t live. But both Boss and Rat are aware of Travelers and are likely Travelers themselves. Their bodies are only limited by their imagination and their…
Dreams.
Uh-oh.
What if the worms are eating their dreams. Roger literally could not imagine himself with anything more than what he walked into the City with. I know firsthand that Roger’s worms allow him to touch his victim and gain information. What if the worms are funneling the victim’s dreams to Roger? The combined imagination of the inhabitants of the Rat Nest may not gain Roger that much. But how many has he infected like this before the City, and the Envoy, began to take notice?
The City is built from the dreams of its citizens. If the dreams are interrupted, then what happens to the City?
No more qualms. Roger has to go.
“Wink?” Rat is pulling on my coat, breaking me from my chain of thoughts. “Wink, I don’t have anything to buy information from you, but you gotta tell me… am I going to be okay?”
“I don’t know, Rat. I know what Roger has done to you, and I have a good idea of how. But I don’t know how to undo it here in the City. But, to be straight with you, Rat, you’re not high on my To Do list just yet. My priority, is Roger. We’ll see what comes after that.”
Rat’s face fell. He nodded. “Well… Just give me something to gossip about, will ya, Wink?”
“Make up whatever you want, Rat. If all goes well, this will be the last time we meet.”
“Eh? Why’s that?”
“He knows.” I pointed to Boss. “He knows everything I have said here in Boss’ presence, and maybe in yours as well. He knows I’m coming for him. The Rat Nest is now a trap. I can not stay. Thank you for your help, Rat. Maybe one day I’ll see you again. Hopefully, next time on your own two feet.”
“No offense, Wink, but I hope I don’t! I don’t want to be a shiny on your chain.”
I laughed coldly with unspoken promise to keep the Soul Collector persona, winked at the nervous man, and left the dream.