"The Green Radio asked so little of Owen."

"What do you need, amigo?"

"A dramatic pause."

I motioned to everyone to stop going up the stairs. "Go for it."

The Radio intoned dramatically. "What the Humans were about to see is but a remnant of the thriving city built by the Ari Maspai. They themselves would have welcomed you, though they were very different from Humans. They were always in motion, always forming and reforming."

Ezra, though he'd been silenced by Taylor, was perking up again. "What were they like?"

"Birds," the Radio said. "Flocks of black corvids that would form group minds, a temporary distributed intelligence. Their identities would change in a heartbeat as they joined other flocks, then still other flocks."

"Can we go please," Taylor called from the back.

I started down the stairs towards him. "Be right back. Do your thing, Radio."

It went on about the ancient city, sounding like a tour guide, which I suppose it was. It finally started playing a bit of music that sounded to me like birds dosed up on caffeine, and shouted "Behold the glory of the Ari Maspai!"

"That means go," I said, and the Humans went up the stairs. I stopped Taylor at the back. His two henches watched me warily.

"Wormy," I said.

He looked down at me, even though he was on the lower stair. I was faced, firing-squad-style, by him and his pals. Big dudes, thin-skinned and violent.

"She sent you here," I said. "She sees something in you."

He swallowed. "You hate Humans. Why do you hate us?"

"Wormy."

His little perfect cupid-bow mouth drew up in anger. "He deserves it."

"And if I were to ask you what he did to deserve it, you'd be able to tell me, right? Go on."

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"He's…so–just…" He shook his head at me, amused and disgusted that I couldn't see something so obvious.

"Like I said. We're having a fun thing that your teacher, Schmendrick, thought you'd enjoy. And you're getting Human social interaction all over it. It's going to stop, one way or the other."

His lip curled in derision.

So I kept at him. "I'm going to be your teacher today, I decided that. It's a new thing for me. I've watched you die several times. Once I killed you myself. Nobody will kill Taylor today, I offer you my word. I want you to succeed here. So does she. Do you understand?"

His friends were frozen, eyes wide. I hadn't raised my voice. I must have sounded tired, because this was exhausting.

He swallowed.

I kept on, heating up. Heating up. "If you can't control yourself, I'll leave you here. It'll be nice. It's nice, right? A nice island. Fruit trees, fish in the sea, the Radio says there's clean water for you. Live out your days peacefully, not BOTHERING me with your BULLSHIT!"

My shout sent the three of them rolling down a few stairs. The stone cracked around us, and we were showered with dust. The leafy vines coming in through the window burst into little candles of flame.

I was shaking with anger. The three of them, down on the ground, looked up at me, eyes wide in horror. There were dark splotches on my vision. I thought they were artifacts in my eyeballs, but they were, in fact, little cloudy things, shadows around me. I waved them away distractedly.

"Sorry guys." I pinched out one of the burning leaves. "Didn't know that would happen." I took Taylor by the hand, lifted him up. He wasn't so heavy. He was shaking too. Same with his friends. "Go on up," I said. "Schmendrick wants you to have fun and learn here, not get threatened by the substitute teacher."

Up they went, silent and open-mouthed.

I sat on the stairs. "Beautiful Mandy," I said.

"The Undine's full curves were–"

"Radio, I need to talk to her."

"What happened?" She asked.

"Why do you think something happened?"

"You sound like you lost your shit at a student."

"How dare you."

"It was Taylor, right? And his droogs? Cassie calls them his droogs."

I sighed. "It's difficult."

"Schmendrick wouldn't have sent you here if she didn't trust you. She wants you to have fun and learn while you're there."

"Oh my god," I said, and laughed. "That's the same line of nonsense I just gave Taylor. And Schmendrick? She just wants to drive that damn boat." I sighed. "How are you? Are you doing everything you can to get better? Taking your meds, doing your exercises?"

"Yes, Owen."

She talked me down. Beautiful Mandy. I was feeling better after a while. Less murderous. And it was a good thing, because one of the teams had found something. The Radio was breathless with excitement.

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