KAYA

The Firemind's serpentine eyes glowered at Kaya, as she stood before him, listening to him tell her about Jace's most recent visits. She was stunned that he would take such a risk, especially considering he was harboring the notorious fugitive in his own house! At first, when Niv-Mizzet sent for her, she was terrified he had discovered Liliana's presence on Ravnica. Instead, he told her all about Jace's visits, and his insistence that his sources were mistaken about the non-existent woman living in the swamps of Dominaria. Kaya had been prepared ahead of time for what was going to happen, because she had immediately gone to inform Jace of her summons, so at least she knew what to say.

"Impossible," Kaya insisted, if only to protect herself. "Liliana Vess died by my blade, and I took the Chain Veil from her corpse. There's no way it was an illusion."

"Humor me anyway," the dragon's deep voice slithered. "If, hypothetically, Vess was alive and Beleren was sent to destroy her…could he be trusted to follow through with my orders?"

Kaya knew she had no choice but to lie through her teeth. She didn't care about Liliana one way or another, but she did recognize the need to protect her and keep Jace from falling out with the Living Guildpact. Playing it cool, she said, "Jace? Yeah, he'd kill her, no problem."

"Are you aware they were lovers once, many years ago?"

"Oh, yeah, everybody knows about that. He loved her, she betrayed him like she betrayed everybody, end of story. He'd probably enjoy killing her."

"Hmm," he rumbled. "I'm not so sure of that. You see, when he first came to me, he objected to killing her when I first charged him with the task."

Jace, why are you such an idiot?

Just tell him what he wants to hear, came Jace's terse reply. He was locked away in his sanctum, deep in meditation, in order to remain connected with her while she answered Niv-Mizzet's summons.

I'm just saying, this was a dumb idea.

Yeah. I know. But it's too late now, so all we can do is damage control.

Kaya snickered. Of course, it was forced. "You know Jace—he's always thinking of, like, a million different possibilities. But at the end of the day, he always makes the right choice. Anyway, if it wasn't her—and I know for a fact it wasn't because I killed her myself—why does it matter?"

"It matters because I need to know that I can trust him. If there is even a chance he would spare her, were she found alive, I need to know about it."

"Well, she won't be found alive because she's dead. Like, this shouldn't even be an issue."

But now it is because you put the idea in his head in the first place! Way to go, genius.

There was no reply, but she knew Jace had heard that. The radio silence was probably him fuming back at home. She wasn't about to let this go.

Can't you just…I dunno…wipe his memory or something? That would make this all go away a lot easier, and it wouldn't involve ME!

I can't just… Never mind. I'll explain it to you later.

The dragon stared at her closely, his big eye close enough Kaya could easily blind him if she wanted to. She wouldn't, of course, because she didn't want to make an enemy of him, but the thought had occurred to her.

"Very well," he said finally. "I will let the matter rest. But I want you to keep a close eye on Beleren for me. If he leaves Ravnica, I want to know immediately. You will tell me where he has gone and who he meets with. And anything else that may be relevant."

Kaya gave a firm nod. Of course, she was not going to betray Jace, but she had to convince the dragon she was on his side.

When she was dismissed, she went back to Jace's house and found him waiting in the front hall. He stopped pacing when she entered, and immediately said, "Here's what we're going to do: you're going to feed him false information. I will give you the information to give to Niv-Mizzet. Don't worry about the details—let me handle that. I'll make it realistic, and it will be enough to convince him you are following his orders."

She gave a stiff nod and began to walk away.

"Oh and, Kaya?" When she stopped and turned back to him, he said, "Thank you."

Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, "You're lucky I like you enough to deal with this. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother protecting her again. You know that, right? Because I don't really care what happens to her, as long as it doesn't affect me."

Jace heaved a sigh and cast his gaze to the floor. "I know. That's all the more reason why I'm grateful to you. Because I do care about her."

"Yeah, yeah, and we need her. I get it. But once this whole Phyrexian thing is over, Jace…I dunno. I just want my life back, you know? I'm sick of being tied down—to the Gatewatch, to the Syndicate…"

"I understand. I hope you'll change your mind by the end of it, but I understand."

Without another word, Kaya walked away, eager to shut herself away for a nap before she had to go take care of Orzhov business. She rolled her eyes. Always something…

CHANDRA

As good as Nissa was at staying calm, Chandra knew better than most that there was this whole other side to her and she was surprised everyone else who had seen that side to her before seemed to have forgotten. She was somewhat annoyed that Jace had suggested somehow Chandra was rubbing off on Nissa—as if she was somehow bad for her. She knew Jace hadn't meant anything by it, but it only fed into Chandra's insecurities and her fear that she was bad for Nissa.

If anyone is bad for Nissa, she thought as she stalked through the corridor toward Nissa's quarters, it's Liliana! She's the one who's upset Nissa—again!—and caused this whole thing. Whatever this whole thing was. She still had no clue what had actually gone on between Nissa and Liliana, but she was sure that whatever it was, Liliana was to blame.

She loved Liliana—considered her a friend and was glad to see her trying to be a better person. But she still had a penchant for stirring up trouble with people she knew didn't like her, and Chandra was sure that was at the root of whatever happened between them. She couldn't just let it be and accept that Nissa was never going to trust her. Of course, maybe Nissa would trust Liliana if Liliana ever did something truly nice to Nissa, instead of taking everything personally and antagonizing her because of it. Not that Nissa didn't do her fair share of antagonizing…

When she arrived outside Nissa's door, she stood there for a moment, wondering if she had given her enough time to cool down. Chandra had waited as long as she could stand before finally marching down the hallway to knock on her door. When she finally did knock, Nissa opened the door and stood there, hanging her head, and staring at the floor.

"Wow," said Chandra. "You look…miserable. Will you tell me what happened?"

Nissa stepped aside to let Chandra enter. Chandra quickly stepped in and Nissa closed the door. Then she walked back to her bed—it was clear she had been laying in it before Chandra came, because the blankets were all tussled and Nissa had always been good about making her bed. It looked more like Chandra's bed always looked, even when she hadn't recently slept in it.

"Am I…rubbing off on you, Nissa?"

The elf's green eyes shot up to meet Chandra's gaze and she almost smiled. "Why do you think that?"

Chandra shrugged, "I dunno. I mean, you've never been this…upset before." She had wanted to say moody but thought better of it. "And Jace made a joke but…I guess it was only a joke and I'm not supposed to take it personally. But I'm not…am I? Is it because of me that you're so upset?"

Nissa inhaled deeply, and said, "You know it's because of Liliana."

"I mean, I figured that, but…I was afraid it was harder for you to…deal with it because I'm usually the more explosive one."

It was a relief when Nissa actually giggled; Chandra found herself able to smile. Then Nissa took both her hands, and said, "Chandra, I love you. And you are not bad for me. You are the one thing—the one person who makes me happy. The one who makes it bearable, living under the same roof as Liliana."

Now Chandra giggled. Then she said, "I don't know what happened between you on the roof, Nissa. I know you wouldn't make anything up. But I also don't think Liliana is doing anything evil. I think she's too tired to be evil, honestly. She just wants to live her life and be left alone, like the rest of us."

Nissa didn't reply. After a brief silence that seemed like forever, she asked, "Do you think I'm…hiding from myself?"

"What?" Chandra wrinkled her face and tilted her head.

Nissa exhaled slowly.

"Nissa," said Chandra, "where'd you get an idea like that? I don't know what that even means."

"Liliana."

Chandra raised her chin. "Ah, that's what you were talking about. I still don't know what it means, though, so I guess I'd say no, I don't think you're hiding from yourself. She was probably just trying to upset you. But…how did you end up on the roof together in the first place? I'm still pretty confused about that."

After Nissa explained what happened, Chandra said, "Well, I mean, you know Liliana—she's either messing with your head or she really does think what she said. Probably both."

She paused and then took Nissa's hands, and said, "Hey, you know what, why don't I talk to Liliana about it. Maybe I can get to the bottom of what she's talking about. It's easier for me to talk to her anyway."

"That's because she likes you," said Nissa. "She hates me."

"I think the feeling's mutual, though."

"I don't hate her," Nissa protested. "I just don't trust her."

"Will you be okay if I talk to her about it?"

Nissa shrugged. "Do as you wish."

"Hey," Chandra whispered, pulling her into an embrace. "You remember what you taught me about how to relax? You need to do that now. Come on. Let's go sit on the bed, cross our legs, and try to meditate. Okay?"

With a nod, Nissa followed her to the bed. Chandra slipped off her boots and the two of them sat cross-legged and facing each other, backs straight and knees touching. They met each other's gaze and Chandra smiled.

"I love you, Nissa Revane. You're my person."

Nissa smiled. "I love you, Chandra Nalaar. And I guess…that means you're my person, also."

Chandra giggled. "It definitely does mean that. At least, I hope so." She winked. Then she squeezed Nissa's hand, and said, "Now, I want you to breathe and relax."

Now it was Chandra's turn to guide Nissa into a meditation, the same way Nissa first introduced her to the same. It was at that moment, as they sat together and settled into perfect harmony, that Chandra realized she was good for Nissa, in the same way Nissa was good for her.

LILIANA

After dining together for a late lunch, Jace and Liliana returned to his sanctum to work. Jace sat at his desk, flipping through numerous books, taking notes, and somehow tying together so many pieces of seemingly unrelated information from multiple sources into one coherent hypothesis. Liliana sat in a chair she had pulled up to the side of his desk with a book in her lap, watching him. She marveled at the way his mind worked. He was brilliant.

He stopped and sat back, resting his hands on the arms of his chair. Then he noticed her watching him and gave her a puzzled look. "What?"

"Nothing," she said with a smile, shaking her head and trying to return to the book in her lap that she hadn't been reading.

She felt his eyes on her and tried not to smile. When she glanced up at him again, he was still watching her.

"You're not even reading that book."

Liliana closed the book finally and sat back. "You're right. I'm not that interested in it, to be honest. I'm more interested in you."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm about to get distracted again?"

She got up and set the book on her chair, then walked around the desk to him. Climbing onto his lap and taking his face in her hands, she said, "You know, it's really attractive the way your mind works. I've never liked men who lack brains."

She ran her fingers though his hair; getting snagged in the tangles. The warmth of his hands on her waist, radiating through her bodice, sent chills coursing through her as she leaned forward and brushed her lips across his—an invitation which he gladly accepted. It might have led to more, were it not for the door suddenly opening and Lavinia strolling in with an armful of folios.

Lavinia stopped as soon as she saw the couple in that position. Her eyes grew wide, and her face turned red. "I… Forgive me, I…"

Liliana climbed off Jace's lap and stood daintily to the side, as Jace cleared his throat and rose from his chair. "It's all right, Lavinia. What…ah…what have you there for me?"

Clearing her throat, Lavinia stepped forward, holding out the folios, and saying, "These are the reports that came in this week. I was…bringing them for you to look over, as always."

It was amusing, the way Lavinia kept her gaze lowered as she stepped past Liliana to hand the folios to Jace. Liliana didn't even bother to hide her smirk. Jace's guard dog was surprisingly timid when she came face-to-face with Liliana Vess.

"Thank you, Lavinia," Jace said in an official tone.

The poor clerk or whatever she was just stood there awkwardly, until Jace finally said, "You…ah…you may go. I'll let you know if I need anything more."

She nodded and then hurried away. Then Liliana, still smiling, said, "She couldn't get away from here fast enough."

Jace cleared his throat, and said, "Well, I don't really blame her. That was pretty embarrassing for all of us."

Liliana shrugged. "Not for me. I don't really care, one way or the other. I thought it was amusing."

"Of course, you did," said Jace, giving her a look that was somewhere between chastising and amused.

He set the folios down on the desk and slumped in his chair, staring at them.

"So, what are these reports?"

"My sources. It's all the information they've gathered about possible Phyrexian influence and activities on other planes. It seems we are definitely onto something—the reports have nearly doubled in the past three weeks."

"Does that mean activity has doubled, or just that your sources know more about what to look for?"

"That's what I'm trying to determine," he answered with a heavy sigh.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" The offer was genuine, but she was really hoping he would say no.

He hummed with hesitation. "I don't think so, but thanks for the offer. Lavinia's already sorted them all and now all I need to do is read through the reports and…"

"And connect the dots?" she finished for him.

"Yeah."

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, and said, "I'll leave you to it then. But fair warning—I might come back later to resume our distraction."

"I hope you do," he answered, as she clutched the front of his tunic and pressed herself against him for a kiss.

Then she sauntered away, tossing him a smile and a little wave over her shoulder as he got to work.

Out in the hall, she came across Ajani's hulking form on his way to Jace's sanctum. They greeted each other in passing—no hard feelings about their disagreement at that morning's meeting. Everyone's timing couldn't be worse, she thought. Perhaps later in the day was better for a tryst. But then, the risk made it more exciting. Jace wouldn't like it, though; he was always so embarrassed by these things, as if it wasn't a perfectly normal thing for people to do. It didn't stop him, of course, she thought with a smile. She could still get him to do practically anything.

JACE

Damn it, he thought as she sauntered out of his sanctum with a promise to return later. He looked at the pile of folios on his desk and groaned. His mind was racing with thoughts of Liliana, but duty called. Loudly. He had only just sat down when he heard the door swing open, and for a moment he hoped she had returned, but then he saw a white-furred leonin face appearing from the shadows. He sat back in his chair, arms up with his hands behind his head, and heaved another sigh. Then he rose and forced a meager smile.

"Hello, Ajani. What can I do for you?"

"Ah, Jace, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," Ajani purred.

Jace eyed the folios wearily, and said, "No, I was just taking a break, actually."

"Ah, good! May I sit?"

"Yes, please," said Jace, gesturing for Ajani to take a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk. Jace was relieved to sit down again, and he pushed the stack of folios aside as he waited for Ajani to speak.

After a long sigh, Ajani said, "It was a long time ago. Maybe you forgot. Before I came to work with you on Kaladesh, I stayed with Tamiyo on Kamigawa to…mourn."

"Elspeth, yes," Jace answered solemnly. "I remember."

"What you don't remember, I think, is that the last time I saw Elspeth, before she…died…she told me she had seen Tezzeret on New Phyrexia."

Jace looked down at his desk, absently running his fingers along the top of it. "You're right, I had forgotten that. There was so much happening at the time, it didn't seem relevant." He sighed and sat back in his chair, raising his hands and resting them behind his head. "It was right there, and we missed it. He's been working with Phyrexia longer than we thought."

"I think so, yes," Ajani agreed. "They are way ahead of us. So now, what are we going to do about it?"

Jace shook his head slowly. "There's so much to this. I'm still compiling information. Still trying to put all the pieces together. Was there…was there anything else you remember? Anything Elspeth told you before…?"

"I'm afraid I don't remember much from back then. Everything from that time is…a sore spot for me, to this day."

"I understand," said Jace. He breathed deeply and stared thoughtfully into the distance.

"We need to find Karn," Ajani said suddenly. "He knows more about all this than I do. He worked alongside Elspeth to fight Tezzeret and the Phyrexians. He fought the Phyrexians before all that since the time of Urza the Artificer."

"Yes," Jace answered with a nod. "You're right. We need more 'walkers with experience on our side. Karn said he didn't want to join up with the Gatewatch, but maybe he'll be willing to work alongside us once again. This is bigger than the Gatewatch. Bigger than all of us. Hells, I don't even know what we're going to find by the time we unravel the whole thing."

Suddenly, he looked up and looked into Ajani's blue eye. "Any idea where to find him?"

"I might have an idea…"

"Then may I put you up to the task of finding him?"

"I will search for him and when I find him, I will bring him here."

Jace nodded. "Good. Thank you, Ajani. That will be a great help."

Ajani rose with a single nod. His hulking form cast a shadow over Jace. For a moment, Jace marveled at his size, having forgotten how big was the leonin warrior. Clearing his throat, he hesitantly reached out a hand. The leonin cast his gaze downward, for a moment seeming to contemplate what was the meaning behind the gesture. Then he reached out and gave Jace's hand a firm shake. Then he departed and Jace sat back down with a heavy sigh, again looking at the pile of folios. Why did he have the feeling that pile was going to be twice as high this time next week?