AEInterlude: Part One

Esperanza, July 20, 1992

David Bernard and Artemis LaFleur stand in the living room of a small house near the shore of an island that only barely exists. Through the curtained windows the bright glow of lightning flickers, followed shortly by the low rumble of thunder. It’s getting close to the moment when a pale copy of an Artemis that was—a byproduct of the island’s unique condition—will finish casting a spell that dooms the world.

David’s body sleeps fitfully on the couch beside them, and h...