Kyle took the sheet and carefully unfolded it, suddenly afraid. It said:

People of Chicago!

By order of the federal government. This city has been quarantined until further notice. Remain in your homes. Stay off the streets unless absolutely necessary. Watch for food and supply drops in your area.

Please do not try to leave the area. The government is taking every measure to control the creatures that threaten you. Until your safety can be guaranteed please remain in your homes and follow all instructions.

Kyle shook his head. It made no sense. Why weren't government troops patrolling the streets? "Why haven't they declared martial law and moved in?" he asked. "Why did they seal it off?"

"How were they to fight?" Seeks-the-Moon asked. "These things are not of this world. Spirits have nothing to fear from bullets or hand grenades. The soldiers could not defeat what they were not strong enough to even fight."

"The Eagle Security troopers I was with fought them," Kyle said angrily. “The Knight Errant troops were fighting them."

"There were many more of the police than there were of the spirits," Seeks-the-Moon said. "And the Knight Errant soldiers are dead."

Kyle started and stared at him.

The spirit nodded. "You, and maybe some others, though I didn't see them, survived."

"How many have gotten out?" Kyle asked.

"None-the soldiers are dead."

"No, I mean how many people have gotten out through the lines?"

"Few."

"Few?"

"The government isn't letting anyone out. They're afraid of contamination."

Kyle started to reply, but then shut his mouth quickly as the truth sank in. "They can't tell who's been possessed by the bugs," he said slowly. "They have no way of knowing who's clean and who's not…"

"A magician could tell," said Seeks-the-Moon. "As we did. But how many do they have? How good are they? Can they trust the results? What if they're wrong?"

"This is insane…"

The spirit shrugged. "They're afraid."

Kyle turned his eyes toward the window and the city outside. "We have to be sure they know what's happened." He looked at Seeks-the-Moon. "You could fly through astral space to the lines and talk to them."

"No, I cannot do that."

Kyle stared at him.

"I am at risk, even now," Moon said. "And in some ways I am a risk to you as well. The insects can smell me. If I were to attempt to fly through astral space, they would sense me and be on me in an instant." The spirit paused, and then said, "I have tried."

Kyle was astounded. "There are that many?"

Seeks-the-Moon nodded. 'There are stories of the insect spirits grabbing people and taking them away. Nobody knows where, but they're not killing them. At least not right away."

"So they have a new nest."

Seeks-the-Moon nodded. "And soon, within days perhaps, there will be many, many more of them."

The spirit would say little more, his expression growing troubled when he spoke about it at all. Seeks-the-Moon and Hanna Uljaken had still been playing Go when Kyle had taken his nearly mortal injuries. From that moment, and for what Moon believed were hours afterward, the spirit knew only the terrible pains of freedom and rebirth. He could not, or would not, describe what he passed through. The most he would say was "You wouldn't understand."

Moon said he remembered little from that time except the pain and a few images. He recalled looking to the north of Truman Tower as a black cloud rose skyward from out of the earth and spread across the city. He also remembered hearing, or feeling, the presence of aircraft on or near the Tower. And then there were the bug spirits.

They attacked the building a short time after the departure of the aircraft, taking with it most of the life in the building. He knew there were still people there-he could hear the voices-and perhaps they'd even been speaking to him. But by then he hadn't yet found the strength to respond.

When the insect spirits attacked, Seeks-the-Moon fled. And as he spoke of this, Kyle could almost sense the emotions the spirit was trying to control. When the bug creatures came, Seeks-the-Moon had abandoned the people still in the building because he was helpless, his form and power reduced to little more than pain and turmoil.

He hid himself away somewhere, he didn't know where, and when he regained control of himself, realized truly what had become of him, Seeks-the-Moon returned briefly to the building. It was deserted, but he'd found a message to him and Kyle in the main room of the Truman condoplex. It was from Hanna Uljaken and said that the Truman family had fled in a Knight Errant tilt-wing aircraft. Daniel Truman, his wife, and their daughter Madelaine had flown to apparent safety, but Melissa was missing again. She was gone from the condo, out with Knight Errant guards who couldn't be raised on the radio when the word had come through that the Trumans and key staff were being evacuated.

Hanna had stayed behind by choice, coordinating the Truman organization's feeble attempts to find Melissa. But even before that could be begun, the Truman Tower itself was invaded. The message ended with word that Hanna and the others were leaving via the building's state-of-the-art fire evacuation system to get clear. That was the only sign of her Seeks-the-Moon could find, and that was when the spirit had set out to find Kyle.

All of which had happened a week ago.

“I have to try," Kyle told him.

Seeks-the-Moon merely stared back. "I have some influence," he said. "I might be able to find out what's really going on."

“They'll shoot you."

"No, they won't They're not shooting anybody."

"People on the street have said that the government is shooting people who are trying to get out."

“I don't believe that; people are scared and when that happens all sorts of stories start," Kyle said. "Besides, I need to go north."

"Your wife."

"My ex-wife," Kyle said, "and my daughter."

"Where will you look?" said Seeks-the-Moon. "At her office? At the apartment? Your daughter's school? The odds of them still being at any of those places is very small."

Kyle nodded slowly. "I know, but if Beth had any way of leaving me a message, she would have."

He stood up. "I have to try. And I'd like your help. I have no reason to expect it," he said, "and I certainly won't demand it"

The. spirit frowned, but a moment later he nodded. "I will help you," he said. "Because you asked."

Kyle nodded back. “Thank you."

They gathered what supplies they had, the food the spirit had raided or gathered, and the weapons taken from the ruins of the Knight Errant assault. Kyle could see that a lot of weapons and armor had apparently been looted from the site, but he hoped that having state-of-the-art weapons evened the odds somewhat between the local populace and the marauding bug spirits.

When they were ready, Kyle thought he must look like a refugee from some second-rate post-nuclear holocaust sim-show. He was careful, though; to remove any obvious Knight Errant markings from the gear, especially the body armor. There was no telling what the city's politics had degenerated into. Seeks-the-Moon looked the same, except for the heavy backpack slung over one shoulder. It was all he could really carry since he might need to slip quickly into astral space. He could take nothing "real" with him, and needed to be able to drop any belongings quickly.

They'd discussed the possibility of Kyle summoning up more elementals or watchers, but had rejected the idea. The time and effort needed to create a conjuring circle to summon the elementals was impractical, and Seeks-the-Moon counseled against any summonings at all until they knew more about the hordes of insect spirits. He was concerned, and Kyle reluctantly agreed, that any summoning might be tantamount to turning on a porch light of a hot summer evening. The last thing they wanted was to attract the attention of the bugs.