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She really should go to sleep; she has class in the morning. But this book is much too interesting to put down. She can just get a coffee.
The digital clock on the desk reads 11:59.
ellie gets kidnapped by a shadow
"I am a Shadow, a Servant of Nemesis. I am made of the bones of the dead, animated by an evil from outside Creation, risen to oppose the Creator."
The Shadow not-grins at her again, coils of its shadow-stuff shifting and writhing.
"Are you better than Genghis Khan, or worse than him?"
Okay. She hasn't taken any drugs or eaten anything that someone could have slipped something into. This is unlikely to be a hallucination. Servant of Nemesis? The Greek goddesss? Doesn't fit with opposing the Creator, singular, and she's pretty sure Nemesis had no jurisdiction over the dead. What the fuck.
"That question doesn't make any sense."
"Better or worse. One or the other. Lie or reject the question if you wish." The shadow seems to relish the prospect.
"You haven't told me what metric I'm supposed to judge by. I can't answer the question without knowing that. If this is supposed to be some sort of spooky personality test, I don't think very much of your methodology."
"No answer, then."
The shadow flicks out one clawed finger and marks a black line in the air next to it.
"You come into possession of a prize slave. Do you keep them for yourself, or sell them on?"
The shadow shrugs. "I choose your answer for you. Would you rather steal a valuable necklace, or a bottle of rare brandy?"
"I will use them to determine the choices offered to you, according to the Law. A close friend of yours betrays you, but you turn the tables and have them at your mercy. They beg forgiveness, claiming they have learned their lesson. Do you spare them, or destroy them?"
"You will choose a new life in a new world. You come into possession of a deadly but highly illegal poison. Do you use it as soon as possible, or hold it in reserve for the right moment?"
"It doesn't matter."
The shadow watches her face carefully.
"Would you rather live in a world where you had a life of perfect ease, or a world where everyone venerated you as a deity?"
"People in Creation that the Creator did not make."
The shadow narrows its eyes.
"You become friends with a highly placed official, and eventually discover that they were responsible for a horrible wrong done to you in the past. Do you keep them as your 'friend' so you can continue using the power of their position, or immediately begin working to destroy them?"
"That depends on the answers you give. You're running a covert organization, and one of your best assets has been captured by your enemies. They know nothing that could implicate you, but they are both loyal and effective. Do you put yourself at risk by mounting a rescue attempt?"
"Too varied and detailed for me to be obliged to list them all. Is well-meaning incompetence at one's duty a sin?"
"I must ask you enough questions to align you to a set of cards. You may ask me one question for each answer you give me, and I am then bound to answer truthfully. You will pick a card, or have one picked for you."
The shadow cracks its knuckles.
"You've stolen something of intense sentimental value to one of your enemies. Do you destroy it, or hold it hostage?"
"There are forty-nine of them. The Law does not compel me to list them all. Would you grovel and beg for forgiveness to return to the graces of someone you loved?"
"No. Are there any penalties for you when you don't answer my questions? Because I didn't ask how many cards there are, I asked what their names were."