I reached out empathically, trying to see if anyone present was buying Static’s story. As before, I couldn’t pick up on any emotions besides those of Static himself, whom I sensed was incredibly anxious, although he wasn’t showing it physically.
“It’s okay,” he said again. “You can tell us what happened — confess to what you did.”
As odd as it seemed, there actually was a little part of me that wanted to do as he asked. It was like there was a small voice in the back of my head telling me to own up to all these horrible things. I ignored it and tried to focus on some kind of rebuttal I could make, but the emotions Static was broadcasting was making it difficult, as he seemed to be on the verge of panic.
But why would a Chomarsus be nervous? What would an Incarnate panic about? Even with a murderer on the loose and targeting them, they had seemingly maintained their cool.
“Just confess,” Static said again. “We know what you did. We’ve got the analysis, and it tells us everything.”
I found myself getting angry. He could take his analysis and shove it! Bearing in mind what Rune had said about him being lazy, it was probably unreliable anyway. He probably took all kinds of shortcuts and…
My thoughts trailed off as the veil lifted and I had a clear understanding now of what had happened.
I turned to Static with a smile and said, “It’s not me who needs to confess; it’s you. You’re the murderer.”
Chapter 55
Static went bug-eyed at my accusation, muttering, “W-w-what?”
“I’ve intentionally sat here quietly while you talked,” I stated boldly, “letting you uncoil just enough rope to hang yourself — which you’ve done, thank you kindly.”
“W-what are you talking about?” he muttered.
“I’m talking about the analysis of Pinion’s gear,” I replied. “You never did it.”
“Of course I did!” he retorted. “Of course I did the analysis!”
I shook my head solemnly. “No, you didn’t. You’re inept, lazy, and prone to taking shortcuts. You never had any intention of performing that analysis because you’re the killer. You already knew who was innocent, so why waste time doing a bunch of work trying to ‘figure out’ who did it? Your only goal was to control the process so you could find someone to frame.”
“Lies!” Static screamed, now getting furious. “These are nothing but vicious lies! You’re simply trying to avoid being punished for your crimes, but the evidence doesn’t lie.”
“There is no evidence,” I shot back. “You never did the analysis.”
“I did,” he insisted, “and it shows you as the murderer. Your own essence is the evidence that convicts you.”
“The evidence can’t do any of that,” I argued, “because I switched it.”
“What??!!” shouted Rune and Mariner, almost in unison.
“I switched it,” I said again. “Mine and Endow’s, to be precise — with her permission, of course.”
Static shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
“Sure it is,” I countered. “I’m a teleporter.”
As a demonstration, I then teleported to a corner of the room, then back to my chair.
“So,” I continued, “I swapped my essence with that of Endow. Thus, if you had actually done the analysis you claim you did, it would have showed that I had interaction with Pinion going back years, while Endow only recently met him.”
“N-n-no,” Static muttered. “I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t take my word for it,” I stressed. “Ask Endow.”
We both turned to Endow, who was in the midst of giving me an appraising glance. I was hoping she would back my play, and then it hit me.
Endow can’t lie! I recalled.
Internally I groaned, thinking I had just spun an amazing yarn for nothing. Endow would tell him the truth, and Static would go back to his story.
Endow turned to Static and stared at him for a moment, then said, “Well?”
Static looked like a trapped animal and was breathing heavily and fast — almost hyperventilating. It was clear that the conversation had gone in a direction he had not intended.
Reaching out for him emotionally, I felt his panic swiftly dissolving, replaced by something hard, concrete, resolute…and menacing.
My eyes went wide and I tried to shout a warning to Rune, Mariner, and Endow. Before I could, however, something like a minor explosion seemed to take place within Static’s body — a flash of light, accompanied by flesh seeming to flee his frame of its own accord. When I looked again, Static was gone, and in his place was a cadaverous form with blotchy skin and a skeletal face.
The killer.
Chapter 56
Everyone seemed to go into motion at once, leaping to their feet and knocking their respective chairs over backward (including me). Shifting into super speed — which, frankly, everyone in the room seemed to do — I noticed that Mariner already had his flaming water-sword in hand, Endow wielded what looked like a medieval mace, and Rune had glowing spheres around his hands.
Static (whom we all now knew was the killer) didn’t have a weapon. Instead, he raised a hand above his head; almost immediately, a brilliant white light flashed from something he seemingly held. When it diminished a few seconds later, I noticed two things right away.
First, the room had expanded notably in size. Whereas before it was perhaps twenty-by-twenty feet in size, it was now at least twice that, with everyone much farther spaced out than they’d been before.
The second thing I noticed (and which had me almost staring in shock) was that there were now two Runes, two Endows, and two Mariners.
Although dressed the same as the original Incarnates (as well as having identical appearances), the three newcomers were easy to distinguish because they weren’t brandishing weapons of any sort. In addition, they appeared slack-faced and blank-eyed, as if no thoughts were going on in their brains.
As I sized up the new arrivals, a weird clacking noise reached my ears, almost a rattle of some sort. It took me a moment to realize what it was: Static laughing.
Without preamble, Static stopped
