The day before they were expected to return home was the day that Lyle’s musings all came together in a burst of inspiration that left him breathless and excited for weeks. Throughout the entire visit to DC, Lyle hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that a great chess game had been started in the worlds above him, and though the players were unnamed and the outcomes unknown, he felt the moment the opposition’s king landed on its side as if it were a lightning bolt.
He only noticed the light on the rooftop terrace because he’d been itching to get out and run all day. f**k meeting up with Arius, f**k following the rules, f**k everything; he needed to shed his skin and run as if the devil was on his tail. For himself and no other reason—to shake off the cobwebs, to dispense with his human h
