The market was a madhouse: enforcers twitching in locked armor, visors looping my ridiculous poses like a glitchy nightmare reel, the crowd roaring with laughter and cheers. Mercury stood in the center of it all, caduceus twirling lazily, winged sandals humming with residual speed.

  I teleported short-range...a zero-point flicker...and landed beside him, stave still humming in my hand. “Mercury? The messenger god who can’t deliver a text without wings? Nice timing. I had it handled, but the chicken visors were a nice touch.”

  He laughed...bright, delighted, the sound like coins spilling from a stolen purse. “Handled? You were about to turn that flip into a faceplant. Wings are timeless, glitch girl. You should try them. They would look good on you, too. Iconic chaos couture.”

  I smirked, retracting the stave back into my silver-and-white bracelet in a mercurial torrent. “Glitch girl? That’s your best? Try ‘Goddess of Code.’ And if we’re critiquing fashion, that tunic is one stiff breeze away from a wardrobe malfunction. But hey, if you’re here to flirt, at least buy me a refill first.”

  Mercury’s grin widened. “Flirt? Darling, I’m here to survive. But if I'm buying, I take payment in stories. Speaking of which…” He glanced past me toward the edge of the thoroughfare, where ThunderCoil hummed low, arcs crackling faintly in the shadows. She’d uncloaked just enough to zap a sneaky enforcer trying to flank us..a blinding lightning arc stretched out from the ship like an overprotective sibling. The thug was still twitching on the dock.

  Mercury froze, then laughed again...softer this time, almost fond. “No way. ThunderCoil. The old serpent’s awake? And you’re her captain?”

  ThunderCoil’s link pulsed smugly to me: He remembers. Tell him I still owe him for that shortcut he “loaned” me.

  I raised an eyebrow. “She says hi. And something about a shortcut debt. But if you two are old rivals, why help me?”

  Mercury twirled the caduceus, leaning on it like a cane. “Rivals? We were partners in crime. Stole from Royals, outran technogods, delivered messages that started wars. But after the Flood sealed the rifts, I lost my own ride. LyreWing...my fastest flyer, wings like lightning, strings that could charm a dragon into a nap. She’s in a pocket I sealed in the ruins of Olympus to keep the Royal Nephilim from stealing her. Been waiting for someone crazy enough to help crack the wards.”

  I crossed my arms. “And you think I’m that someone?”

  He grinned, eyes sparkling. “I think you’re the only one crazy enough. You have the serpent? Then you’re my ticket. Help me wake LyreWing, and I’ll show you paths through the stratacosm even Anakia doesn’t know. Plus, you owe me for the chicken visor assist.”

  ThunderCoil pulsed agreement: He’s not wrong. LyreWing knows shortcuts I’ve forgotten. And Olympus is not far...a shallow dive in stratacosm terms.

  I sighed dramatically. “Fine, wing-boy. But if your lyre-ship sings off-key, I’m muting it. Let’s go dig up your baby.”

  Mercury laughed. “Deal. But first...”

  The market air crackled with resonance. Enforcer ships, five sleek, rune-hulled phase vessels, phased in from the cavern walls, engines humming low menace. Cannons swiveled toward us. The leader’s voice boomed from speakers: “Unregistered gods! Surrender or be phased out.”

  I glanced at Mercury. “Looks like playtime’s not over.”

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  He twirled the caduceus. “After you, glitch goddess.”

  We bolted...me blinking short-range to dodge a resonance burst, Mercury zipping ahead with sandal speed...straight back toward ThunderCoil. The market became a gauntlet: dodging stalls, leaping over crates, enforcer ships firing bursts that shattered crystal displays behind us.

  I TK’d a crate into one ship's path...wood splintered, and the ship swerved. Mercury laughed. “Nice throw! You’ve been practicing.”

  “Shut up and run,” I shot back, blinking again to avoid a pike sweep.

  We reached the dock just as ThunderCoil’s ramp dropped. I vaulted aboard, Mercury right behind me. The ramp snapped shut as the first enforcer ship fired...the shot glancing off ThunderCoil’s shields in a shower of sparks.

  ThunderCoil’s voice rolled through the link: Hold on. We’re diving.

  The ship lurched forward, phasing straight through the market’s central water concavity: a vast, glowing lake suspended in the strata, Annunaki cities floating around a massive, symmetrical quartz crystal pulsing pale white light like a captive star. Towers of crystal and gold drifted in serene orbits, bridges of light arcing between them.

  We dove straight in...ships phasing through the water like ghosts, enforcer vessels in hot pursuit. Annunaki guardians stirred, but we were already weaving through floating spires, the quartz crystal’s light refracting our paths into rainbows of evasion.

  Inside the bridge, Mercury ran a hand down the railing...slow, almost reverent. His grin softened for a heartbeat.

  “Still the same old serpent,” he murmured. “Same hum, same attitude. We used to race these halls, you and I. You always won. I always lied and said I let you.”

  ThunderCoil’s arcs flickered along the console, a warm, amused pulse.

  Mercury looked at me, eyes sparkling again. “She remembers. And she’s happy you’re here. But if we’re going after LyreWing, we need to lose these tin cans first.”

  I grinned, stave extending back into my hand. “Then let’s give them a show.”

  ThunderCoil dove deeper....through the water concavity, past floating Annunaki cities, toward the next rift. Enforcer ships closed in, cannons blazing.

  The chase was on, and Mercury Hill waited beyond sight.

  I felt the lattice strain building...every blink, every TK push, every shield flare burned reserves. But the rift ahead shimmered, promising escape.

  Or something worse.

  I glanced at Mercury. “You sure your lyre-ship’s worth this?”

  He winked. “She’s worth everything. Trust me.”

  ThunderCoil surged forward, phasing into the unknown.

  The enforcer ships swarmed in closely, seeking to cut off our escape. The open space around us split off into side corridors leading to other vendors and attractions.

  Probability of destruction approaching certainty. I needed to pull something out of my last resort folder. No other play left. I needed something faster.

  I shifted.

  Feathers erupted: violet, razor-sharp, semi-transparent like violet stained glass. My body collapsed inward, lattice folding into wings, talons, beak. The falcon form snapped into place: fast, agile, vision piercing the chaos. My staff and my armor condensed to bracelets on my taloned ankles.

  I launched from the deck, streaking ahead of ThunderCoil, a violet comet cutting through the enforcer fire.

  Mercury laughed behind me. “Now that’s a trick I haven’t seen in ages!”

  The rift swallowed us, and the chase continued.