"Arcadias is unlike any Immortal the Couriers have ever faced," Rashad said, "because he holds the Hub. We were not even aware that a new Edict had appeared when Arcadias struck." There was a tired sorrow in Rashad's voice; his lips formed a creased frown.

"We were swept aside like rag dolls, evicted from our very home by that which we were appointed to combat," he said. His eyes lowered. He's ashamed, Hermes thought. Rashad's eyes lifted, his brow furrowed.

"By claiming the Hub, Arcadias complicates our mission. From there, he can control the Waypaths. They are now closed to us, though the Edict bearer can still walk them, for some reason beyond my knowledge. Perhaps it is some game Arcadias plays at, or perhaps he is incapable of stopping the Edict from moving. I am not sure."

"So how'd you escape?"

Rashad motioned around the room. "The Broken Herald was away from the Hub at the time, undergoing repairs on a Node called Havernus. Iris, Narsil, and Autolycus were on board, as were Angelo and...another member of our crew." Rashad trailed off strangely at the end, his frown deepening. Hermes blinked. That wasn't what he was going to say. Who else was with them? Hermes wanted to ask, but thought better of it.

"What about the Edict?" he asked instead. "Wasn't it at the Hub?"

Before Rashad could answer, there was a knock at the door. It swung open and Iris entered. Hermes sat up a bit straighter. Her gaze drifted to the bandana at his throat, then diverted quickly towards Rashad. She placed a tray with sandwiches on it between them.

"I thought you might be getting hungry," she said, taking a seat next to Rashad.

"What's this stuff?" Hermes said, reaching for one of the sandwiches. The food looked a little weird. There was something that looked like greenish peanut butter between two slices of bread, but Hermes was starving and decided it couldn't be too horrible.

"It's called dolm," Iris replied, glancing back towards him. "Rumble likes it. Try a bite."

Rashad cleared his throat. "You've set our course?" he asked, turning in his seat to look at the girl. Iris took a sandwich for herself and nodded.

"Autolycus is guiding us out of Gryx. We'll reach Voidspace in about three hours."

Hermes took a hesitant bite of the sandwich; the dolm stuff actually did taste a bit like peanut butter, he thought, though it had an odd spicy twist to it. It wasn't bad, and Hermes was hungry enough that he didn't care—how long had it been since he'd last had something to eat? He swallowed a bite of his sandwich, and leaned back in his seat.

"So, you didn't answer my question," he said. "How'd you get the Edict out of the Hub?"

Rashad puffed the last smoke from his pipe, and snuffed it out.

"A young Voidship pilot named Dariska managed to smuggle the Edict out and escape with it, though Arcadias' minions pursued her. She reached Havernus and delivered the Edict to us, but Dariska's wounds were too severe. We almost lost any hope of defeating Arcadias."

Hermes tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"The Edict must always have a bearer," Iris said. She tucked a lock of her strange, iridescent hair behind one ear. "If its bearer dies, and there isn't someone else to swear the Creed, the Edict will return to the Hub."

She smiled sadly. "Angelo was always quick. As soon as Dariska died, he grabbed the Edict and swore the Creed."

Hermes nodded to himself, remembering the blood that had dripped off the Courier's fingers. Angelo had been wounded when he reached Lionsfort – he must have known he was going to die. That's why he was so desperate to pass the Edict on. Wait a sec...

Hermes leaned forward in his seat. "My grandfather is the Postmaster of my hometown. In Lionsfort, Angelo asked for him. Do you know why?"

Iris and Rashad shared a glance, but the girl shrugged. "I have no idea. Angelo was well-traveled. Maybe he met your grandfather at some point?"

"He must have been familiar with your world if he arrived there on purpose," Rashad added.

"What makes you say that?" Hermes asked.

"Every Node has a distinct resonance," Rashad replied. "Without knowing that resonance, it would be impossible to accurately travel through the Waypaths – you might end up anywhere. We had a book at the Hub that indexed the resonances of all the charted Nodes in the Spiral, but without it, Angelo could only have opened Waypaths to Nodes with resonances he had memorized."

"Could that book help me get home?"

"It could."

"And to get to it, we have to take this Arcadias guy out, right?"

Rashad nodded.

Hermes caught Iris' eye and grinned. He stood up. "Well, let's do this thing, then!"

Iris arched an eyebrow, but she laughed. He thought it was one of the prettiest sounds he'd ever heard.

"Your enthusiasm is laudable, Hermes, but I am afraid it will not be quite so simple," Rashad said. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, and interlocked his fingers. Hermes sighed, and slumped back into his chair.

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he muttered.

Iris shook her head. "Arcadias has disturbing powers, Hermes. Things we've never dealt with before: teleportation, clairvoyance--"

"Claire who?"

"Clairvoyance," Rashad said. "Arcadias can see and hear all that goes on within the Infinite Spiral."

Hermes crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow.

"So if he knows where we are, and he can teleport, why doesn't he just pop in here and destroy us?"

"Arcadias is powerful, but he is not omnipotent. There exists an artifact known as the Cloak of Nemo, which shields the wearer from remote seeing. A scrap of that cloak is built into the hull of this vessel."

"Must be a big cloak." Hermes' eyebrows lifted. Rashad smiled.

"The Spiral has many mysteries, my friend. You could wander its coils for centuries and never uncover them all."

"We'll need the Cloak in order to sneak back into the Hub and deliver the Edict to Arcadias," Iris said.

"The Cloak of Nemo is now in the hands of a sage named Polyphemus. Last I knew, he resided on the Node of Scythica. We'll begin our search for him there." Rashad stood, and motioned for Hermes to do the same. "But it grows late, and you look tired, my young friend. Come. I will show you to your room."

They stepped out of the back room and back onto the bridge. Autolycus sat at the pilot's seat, but gave it up to Iris when she stepped forward. Narsil stood against one wall, arms crossed.

"So, for curiosity's sake, what were to happen if we tried to get into the Hub without the Cloak?" Hermes asked. Rashad and Iris shared another glance, but it was Narsil that answered, a cruel grin on his sneering lips.

"Oh, not much. Arcadias would detect you, rip your spine out with a quick, dismissive thought, and pick his teeth with your bones."